


Beautiful Disaster

by alleykatz12



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Secrets, Tarsus IV, set before STID
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-28 15:10:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 46,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2737226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleykatz12/pseuds/alleykatz12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a couple of months since the Narada catastrophe, and Jim and Spock are finally starting come to terms with what happened. This is a story about regrets of the past and their hopes for the future. What happens when the past comes back to haunt you?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Captain, there is an incoming message from Starfleet for you.” 

“Patch it through to the ready room, Lieutenant.” Jim sprang up from the command chair and headed over to the doors, calling over his shoulder, “ Mr. Spock, you have the conn.”

Once inside the room, he happily greeted the face of Admiral Pike. The Enterprise had been kept on a short leash for the last two months, whether it was because they didn’t trust him, or that they needed the flagship closer to headquarters because most of the fleet had been destroyed, he didn’t know. He only knew that he and the rest of the crew were getting sick of being gofers for everyone. 

“Admiral, it’s good to see you again! Did you receive my request?”

“Yes, I did. I know you don’t like being the errand boy, but all this work is important.” Pike raised his hand to signal him not to argue the point. “However, I have managed to get the rest of the Admiralty to approve of a mission for you.”

Jim’s eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face. “Sweet. What is it? Do we finally get to explore new places?”

“No. I'm afraid not.” Jim’s grin slipped a little, but Pike didn’t notice. “Your new mission is going to be transporting as many Vulcans as possible to their new planet and helping them rebuild. You will spend three months with them, so head to Earth first, and once you get here you and your crew will receive five days of shore leave before you head out.” That was probably the only decent thing Jim had heard so far. 

Pike, seeming to read thoughts, continued, “I hope you don’t think this isn’t an important mission because it is.” 

Jim now felt guilty at having thought this wasn’t any better than the other jobs they’d had to do. The Vulcan people, or what was left of them anyway, needed all the help they could get. The thing was they did not want to ask for it. They were a peaceful people and very self-sufficient. You would have thought that asking for help when you need it would be logical, but the Vulcans didn’t. They also did not ask for any of this to happen to them.

Jim felt bad, but tried to keep it to himself. “I think it is a very important mission and we’ll head back straight away. Thanks for the shore leave, by the way.”

“Don’t thank me. You guys earned it. There hasn’t been one complaint about all the crappy jobs you’ve had to do.”

“You knew those so called missions sucked, but you still gave them to us?”  
Pike smirked. “Someone had to do them, but that should make this mission seem like heaven in comparison. Don’t you agree?” 

“Yeah, I guess.”

“When will you arrive at Earth?”

“We should arrive later tomorrow.”

“Alright, we’ll have shuttles waiting. I have to go. I’ll catch you later. Pike out.”

The screen went blank. Jim sat there for a few minutes thinking. He had many reasons why he didn’t want to go on this mission. The most important one was Spock. Jim didn’t know if at the end of the mission Spock would decide to stay on the colony or not. He and Spock still might not be getting along all that well, but he hoped that when the time came to leave the colony, Spock would be leaving with them.

Jim stood up from the chair running his hand through his hair and exited the room.

“Mr. Sulu set a course for Earth. Chekov, begin a ship wide announcement telling the crew that when we arrive at earth we have five days of shore leave, and then will spend three months helping the Vulcans rebuild their new home world.” Jim glanced over at Spock as he said this and tired to read his face but as usual he did not show any emotion. 

“Aye, captain” Chekov replied beginning to relay the message to the rest of the crew. The reaction from the crew was not what Jim expected. They were all excited and seemed to think that this was what a normal mission consisted of. Jim just wanted to get away from all the bureaucracy and explore space. He knew this was an important task but there were other star ships that could have done it.

Jim tried to feel as excited as the crew was about the upcoming vacation, but he really couldn’t. Everyone was scrambling to gather all their belongings that they would need for the next five days, everyone except Jim. He didn’t want to go home if his mother, Winona, was going to be there so he decided to check and hoped that she would be off planet somewhere. 

He and his mother had never really gotten along, and this would not be the time to start. Maybe, he could stay with his brother if Winona was there. He decided to send a message to Sam and ask. Perhaps, he would know her whereabouts, too. Leaving the bridge after his shift, he went to his room to send the message to Sam. 

With that done, he didn’t know what to do with himself and decided to go annoy Bones. 

“Bones!” he called as he walked into sickbay. “What are you doing for shore leave? Would you come with me to Iowa if Winona is not there? I don’t want to go by myself.” 

“Sorry kid I can’t. I promised Jo I’d spend it with her. She is really getting sick of her mother and asked if she could come back with me because she can’t stand being around my crazy ex anymore than I can. I told her that I don’t think she would like it because of our next mission on some desert planet that resembles the old Vulcan. She said she would love to come and meet an alien race. By the way, just out of curiosity what is the policy on bringing a child onboard?”

“I don’t know. Ask Spock. He seems to know everything.”

“I don’t want to ask that pointy eared bastard anything. He’s like a robot and would make up some complicated logical excuse for why it is or it isn’t allowed.” 

“I supposed I could look into it then,” Jim replied. “It might even help crew moral to have some kids on board. Starfleet is a family organized institution. They usually try to keep them together.” 

“I know, but I would want Jo to be safe. I don’t like space and with your history we usually get into every mess possible. You attract the most trouble out of anyone I know.”

“Hey, now. I do not. I never go looking for trouble; it just finds me. And bedsides, I always manage to get out in the nick of time!”

“You are worse than my own kid. I tell ya, you are going to be the death of me.” Bones said as he turned around with a hypo and stabbed it in Kirk’s neck. 

“Shit! What was that for?”

“Well, if you kept your appointments for regular vaccinations I wouldn’t have to give them to you when you aren’t expecting them.” Bones smirked evilly toward his Captain causing him to glare. 

“Just for that you are uninvited to come with me for shore leave. It would have been fun, and Jo could have come too, but now you are uninvited. Maybe I’ll just ask her to come with me instead. That way we can leave you with your crazy ex wife.” 

“Don’t you dare leave me with that bitch. And Jo would not go with you. She misses me.” 

“Should we ask her? I bet she would come with me if I asked.” 

“Leave her alone, Jim. You’re taking advantage of her because she a crush on you. If I so much as thought you would do anything with her I would castrate you! So, don’t even go there!”

“Hey, hey, hey I would never! She is like ten. You are a sick, sick man.”

“She’s thirteen, and I know you, that’s why I haven’t castrated you, yet.” 

“Oh, well thirteen is ok! I'm going to go call her, then.” Kirk barely finished the sentence before being chased out of sickbay with a very pissed off Bones chasing him with a hypo in hand. 

Racing for his life, Kirk sprinted through the halls trying to find somewhere he could hide. “I'm sorry,” he shouted behind him towards Bones. “It was a joke. I swear I’ll never say another word about her.” 

“You should have thought about that before you opened your big mouth! You’re dead Jim, dead! Ya hear?”

Turning his head over his shoulder he called again, “Sorry!” As he was turning his head back around, he crashed into something very solid that sent him tumbling to the ground. Kirk lay there for a minute trying to get his bearings, and then looked up to see what had blocked his path. 

He felt very humiliated at that moment in his life and wished the floor would open up and swallow him. Spock, whom he had just crashed into, was towering over him with his eyebrow raised, which Kirk took to be disapproving. He really wished he could just disappear right now.

Jim was staring up at Spock before he heard Bones.

“Jim you will pay for that. Besides, there is nowhere you can hide because I have override codes for everywhere incase of emergencies! There is no escaping me.” Bones shouted along the corridor before he caught sight of the sight of the scene in front of him. He skidded to a halt while Kirk got to his feet and tried to hide behind Spock. 

“Captain is there a purpose as to why you are sprinting through the corridors recklessly?” Spock asked in a stern voice. 

Kirk, hiding behind him, answered, “I'm hiding from Bones. He is going to hypo me to death! You have to save me, Spock.” 

“It’s no more than you deserve. You’re an ass, and you need to learn when to shut your mouth.”

“I, too, agree.” Spock replied, “Carry on.” He moved around the doctor and started to exit the hallway. 

“Wait you cant just leave me here. You’re my first officer, and I need your help. What if Bones kills me?” 

“Then you will be dead, and I will then be captain.” 

“So, I was right. You are pissed that I got the promotion over you.”

“No, I am merely stating a fact of what will happen should your death occur.”

“Well, now that you point that out I won’t kill you because I don’t want this hobgoblin as a captain. If he were captain, then I would have to take orders from him, and I think I would shoot myself. But that still leaves so many other possibilities!!” 

Kirk didn’t wait for anything and just took off down the hall, Bones chasing after him. When they were out of sight, Spock just shook his head and continued on his way deciding that humans were too complicated.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was very hectic for everyone. Excited voices filled the air as the ship began the docking procedures at the Earth station. That is everyone except Kirk who could not be found anywhere. 

Bones, entering the bridge, shouted out, “Have any of you seen the captain? I can’t find that damned fool anywhere, and I am worried he might do something stupid. I checked the computer, and it says he isn’t even on the ship. So, has anyone seen him?” 

All at once everyone started talking. Uhura said, “I have been trying to get a hold of him for the last two hours.” While Sulu said something like, “I haven’t seen him since dinner last night.” With everyone talking all at once, Bones didn’t hear anything.

He was just about to shout shut up when Spock spoke above the noise. 

“Silence.” Immediately, silence fell upon the crew and Spock continued, “The captain has not reported to the bridge, which is why I alerted medical. I had thought that he would be with you. To what are you referring when you say he might do something impulsive? Is he unstable?” 

“No, you hobgoblin. He is not unstable, but I just don’t know why he didn’t report to duty. I want to make sure he is okay. If the computer says that he isn’t even on the ship, that usually means that he is hiding for some reason, and I want to know why.” 

“The captain is very unorganized. He may have forgotten.” 

“You are unbelievable. Do you even care that the captain is missing?” 

“Yesterday, you were trying to kill him. You could very well have and are just trying to throw suspicion from yourself.” Spock replied with a raise of his eyebrow. Saying that caused the crew to look suspiciously towards the doctor, like he might try to kill them all where they were. 

“You are hopeless! Why do I even try?” Bones turned to the lift and made his way out to find the captain. He was worried that Jim would sink into his depression again like he did back at the academy. That was a year and a half that he would rather not relive again. He shuddered just thinking about it and pushed the thought to the back of his mind continuing on his mission and hoping that he was worrying for nothing. 

Meanwhile, Kirk was hiding from everyone because he just did not want to deal with people. He had one of his reoccurring nightmares last night, one that not even Bones knew he had, and Bones could always tell when something was wrong. Kirk never told him what was bothering him but Bones would always nag at him until he got out of his funk or let him give him a hypo to sleep which was not a good idea because it made the nightmares worse. Kirk just wanted some peace and quite. He brought some paperwork with him so it wouldn’t look like he was totally skipping out on work. If he had said he wasn’t going to the bridge, Bones would have come and checked on him to make sure he was all right. It was better that he look like he just overslept. Spock already thought that he was a terrible captain, so why not play into the part a bit more? 

If the ship had been in any danger, he never would have skipped out bridge duty. It was usually the best part of his job. He hated paperwork and had tons of it to catch up on, but he figured this was as good as any time to work on it. Especially since, he wanted to take his mind off of his problems. Spock could handle the being in charge for a while. 

Two hours later with mostly everyone off of the ship, Kirk emerged from his hiding place in the girls’ bathroom. Yeah, he knew that was wrong but he put an out of order sign on the door so no one came in. It was the only place he could think of where Bones would not look for him. He hoped that Bones had already left for the shuttles to take them back to earth, but he knew Bones was probably still looking for him. Bones could be very stubborn when he wanted to be. 

Walking slowly through the corridors, Kirk was staring at his data pad and not paying any attention to where he was going, so he jumped when he heard Spock call out “Captain.” 

“Yes? What can I do for you?”

“Where you unaware that you were scheduled for bridge duty today?” 

“I had some things to take care of this morning. I figured you could handle it fine without me today. I would have been there if there had been an emergency. You can handle taking the bridge when I'm not there, right?” 

“That is correct. However, some advanced warning would have been appreciated. Many resources were wasted trying to locate you. Lieutenant Uhura has been trying to contact you all day and Doctor Mccoy has insisted that you cannot be on your own and we should locate you as soon as possible.” 

“Bones isn’t still around is he? Also, not that many resources were wasted. If you really wanted to find me you could have put on a search party or put the ship on red alert to get me to come to you.” 

“If I had done that it would have confused the crew and may have resulted in a catastrophe,” Spock was starting to go into lecture mode of how to run a spaceship and Kirk did not have the time or the desire to listen to him. Kirk knew he shouldn’t have hacked into the computer and erased his existence on the ship, but he just wanted to be alone. 

“Look, Spock, I know I shouldn’t have done that but I needed to get away for awhile, or I would have exploded. You probably don’t understand but sometimes us humans need some distance from each other or we will start going crazy. I don’t need your permission to take a day off, and yeah, I agree with you. I should have told you I wasn’t going to be there. I’ll tell you next time. I'm sorry, so if you will excuse me, I need to get going. There is still some paperwork I need to finish filling out.”

Spock watched his captain start walking away slightly stunned, though he would never admit it to anyone including himself. He could see that something was definitely wrong with his captain. Kirk was a very gregarious person and loved being the center of attention. Today, he didn’t show up for work or lunch, which was when he did his usual socializing with the crew. Now, he wasn’t acting like himself by trying to get a rise out of Spock or generally trying to annoy him. The captain even agreed with him about the advanced notice next time he wanted to miss work, which was very uncharacteristic of him. He never admitted he was wrong about something unless it was a life or death situation.

“Captain?” 

Kirk paused about five feet away from him but didn’t turn around. 

Spock took that as an invitation to start talking. “Is something troubling you? You seem distracted. Do you require any assistance?” 

Kirk slowly let out a breath that he didn’t notice he had been holding. “I'm having some trouble finishing the paperwork for the docking and shore leave.” 

“I may be able to assist you if you have no objections.” 

“You would?” Kirk was surprised because he didn’t think Spock liked him or would want to help. He thought that he would rather spend his time with Uhura, but Kirk wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity to have Spock do some of the paperwork with him. “Yeah, I would appreciate that if you could.” 

“I have no other pressing matters to attend to at this moment. Shall we?” Spock said sweeping a hand out in front of to indicate that Kirk should lead the way.

Kirk keyed in the code to his room and strode into it; it was pretty messy, and he felt slightly embarrassed. He tried to straighten up a little and turned to hand Spock a PADD. Spock accepted it without a word, and they got started in silence.

Two hours later, Kirk stood up and started to stretch the kinks out of his back. He was exhausted and needed to sleep but now he had to go and debrief with the admirals. They would want to know every detail that had happened over the last few months even though he had already told them in the paperwork he had to send in after every mission whether it involved transporting goods or dropping people off. Kirk didn’t know why he had to go and talk to them again. It was all a bunch of bull anyway. The soonest he could go and catch up on the sleep he missed out on last night would be in another five hours. That was assuming he finished everything he had to get done and the shuttles were on time for once. 

“Thanks, Spock, for all the help. I don’t think I would have finished if you hadn't helped.” Jim wanted to say more but felt that he would overstep some invisible line, and he didn’t want Spock to regret helping him. Also, he didn’t know if they were to the point where they could confide in each other. 

“Thanks is not necessary, Captain. I was only doing my duty as first officer.”

“It’s Jim, Spock there is no one around to hear you address me by my first name. How many times have I told you that? And you didn’t have to help me, but I'm glad you did. Now, should we go and find a shuttle to get back to earth?”

Spock stood up and inclined his head. “I will meet you in the transporter room in exactly five minutes.” 

“Alright, but you do know that I am not going to time you, right?” Jim said with a smirk. He loved it when Spock was so very literal. It was fun to tease him about it. Spock always had to be so precise about everything, but it was what made him such a good first officer. 

Spock quirked his eyebrow in the way only he could do and replied, “ very well.” He left silently after a wave of Jim’s hand. 

Jim watched the doors shut behind Spock and let out a deep breathe. It was going to be a long, tiring couple of hours. He just hoped he could get through them all without anyone noticing his exhaustion, or lack of concentration because he did not have any intention of telling anyone about what was troubling him.


	3. Chapter 3

Five hours later after a grueling day, Jim was heading to his room where he was staying for the night. He still wasn’t sure if his mother would be at the house or not, but he figured that he would hear back from Sam soon. To tired to even take off his clothes, Jim kicked off his shoes and fell in a heap on the bed. Jim was asleep within minutes. 

The next morning, Jim awoke to the chiming of his door. “Come in.” He yelled as he sat up. Jim knew that it was Bones on the other side of the door because no one else would come check on him this early in the morning. Jim was feeling more rested than he had in a while. 

“You look better than you did last night. Are you ever going to tell me where you were on the Enterprise? That hobgoblin accused me of murdering you, and everyone on the bridge gave me the evil eye. I want an explanation.” Bones begin before he even crossed the threshold. 

“Sorry, about that. Spock already gave me a lecture on my unprofessionalism, and he was right to. I shouldn’t have been unreachable.” 

“Damn right. You should be sorry. Don’t let it happen again. So how did it go with the admirals?” Bones questioned as he started to make coffee not realizing that Jim had successfully steered the conversation in a different direction and avoided answering his question. 

“It went fine. They just wanted to go over everything again and waste my time.”

“That sucks, but you know it is protocol. Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?”

“Yeah. I am going to head up to Iowa and see the farm. I just got word from my brother that my mother is off planet, and no one should be at the house.” He said as he read the message on his PADD. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me? I could show you all the old haunts.” Jim took the cup of coffee Bones handed him. It had been made just the way he liked it and smelled delicious.

“Sorry kid. I wanna see my daughter. She is growing faster than a weed in a garden.” 

“Nah. Its all right. You deserve every second with her. Give her my love will you? I will probably leave here in an hour or two to catch the shuttle.” 

“Sounds good. You take care of yourself. I don't want to hear that you got into any trouble. This is a vacation not a mission. Understand?” 

“Yes, Bones. I’ll behave.” Jim got up and gave his friend a hug. He wished he could go with him, but Bones needed time with his daughter, and he had to get some things from the old farm house. He didn’t ever plan on going back there after this trip. Bones clapped him on the back and said, “have a good time.”

“You too.” He replied as McCoy walked out the door. 

The door slid shut and Jim breathed out a sigh. It was going to be a long five days of shore leave. He walked over to the dresser and grabbed some clean clothes. As he made his way to the shower, he started a mental list of everything he needed to get done before the Enterprise made their way to the new Vulcan colony. There was so much he had to do. 

He shook his head as he turned on the water in the shower. Right now was not the time to think about this. Undressing quickly, he stepped into the spray and stood there for a moment just enjoying the feeling of water cascading over his body. He lathered up his hair and let his brain wander. 

The suds were cascading down his body when he started to think about a hot wet mouth going down on him. It had been a quite few months since he had gotten off with someone else. Being a starship captain had severely decreased his sexual partners. It wasn’t like he could just have a one night stand with someone who worked under him, and even if someone came onto him it would still be considered an abuse of power. There were regulations in place for any relationship, but if it was serious it had to be approved by the admirals. 

Jim was getting tired of one night stands anyway, but he didn’t really have the time for anything else. He also wasn’t sure if he wanted to start a relationship either. This meant that for the time being Jim only had the company of his hand. 

His hand slowly started traveling south to his slowly hardening cock. He leisurely started to pump as the picture in his mind got more detailed. He imagined a head of dark hair and pouty lips wrapped around him as he fucked into that moist wet mouth his hands pulling at that dark silky hair. Jim let out a moan and used his other hand to tug lightly at his balls. His stomach muscles, and thighs were quivering and the tension increased. He came all the shower wall in front of him, groaning out, “Spock.” 

When that word hit his ears, Jim froze and started to freak out. He did not just say that, did he? He couldn't have. There was no possible way that he was imagining Spock sucking him off. First, Jim was not interested in commitment and Vulcans mated for life. Second, the guy was dating Uhura. Third, Jim didn’t even know if he was into men, and lastly why would he ever be interested in someone like him? Jim was messed up and was only just starting to get his life together. Spock would never be interested in him. They were still trying to figure out their friendship. 

Jim groaned out loud at himself, and punched the shower wall. Jacking off was supposed to relieve tension not make more. He mentally swore up a storm in his mind and rinsed off. Then he turned the shower off and stepped out. He couldn't look at himself in the mirror. He was confused and pissed at himself for what just happened. Jim grabbed a towel and decided to put it out of his mind. It was just a fluke from not getting off with anyone in a long while. Even though he didn’t really want a one night stand anymore, maybe it would help him not think about Spock anymore. Well, he had five days of shore leave. He had plenty of time to hook up with someone. With that decided, he got dressed and packed up his things. He had a shuttle to catch.


	4. Chapter 4

At the shuttle station, Jim picked up his ticket and was just grabbing his bag that he had previously set down when he heard familiar voices arguing. Jim followed the voices to the corner of the station where he was able to catch a glimpse of Spock and Uhura. Uhura was talking in fast Vulcan and gesturing wildly. Spock was standing there motionless just listening. 

People were milling about, and Jim tried to get close to say hi, but it was slow going. The noise of the station was making it hard to hear exactly what was being said until Jim managed to get closer. 

Jim, who could speak fluent Vulcan, couldn't believe that he was watching them break up, if what Uhura was saying was true. Jim didn’t dare interrupt this conversation anymore, and he knew he should leave, but his curiosity got the better of him. He stayed out of their line of sight and listened to what was being said. 

“This is not the place for this conversation, Nyota.”

“You’re right, but I just can’t do this anymore Spock. I will always love you, and I thought I knew what I was getting into when we started this relationship, but I’ve changed. We’ve both changed. I just can’t do this right now. I’m so sorry Spock.” Uhura seemed upset, and Spock didn’t seem to know what to do. 

Jim didn’t want to interrupt, but he could see that Spock was out of his depth. Jim decided to wait and see what would happen. He was friends with both of them and hoped this didn’t ruin any friendships or working relationships. 

“I understand Lieutenant. Our relationship is terminated.”

“Spock just give me some time and space. Can we just take a break, and after these five days away from each other, can we reevaluate our relationship?” Uhura looked like she was going to cry. 

“That would be acceptable.” Spock wasn’t sure what the appropriate response should be. He knew what he wanted, but if she needed time he would give it to her. He could use this time to deal with his mother’s death. 

Uhura smiled as a tear slid down her cheek. She just shook her head and reached up to give him a kiss on his cheek. She whispered something in Spock’s pointy ear that Jim wasn’t able to catch. Uhura grabbed her bag and boarded her shuttle with a minute to spare. Spock watched as the shuttle started to leave. If you didn’t know him at all, you would think he was just an ordinary Vulcan with no expression on his face, but Jim saw it all. He saw the tiny frown and the wrinkle between the eyes. It was his eyes, though, that showed the heartbreak, confusion and shock. 

When Spock recognized Jim approaching, any emotions Jim had glimpsed were completely wiped away. Jim wished he wouldn't shut him out. He wanted to at least have the destined friendship that the other Spock had promised. 

“You okay?” He clapped his hand on Spock’s shoulder as a sign of comfort. 

Spock just looked at the hand on his shoulder and contemplated removing it. He decided that it would not be worth it. He seemed to find some comfort in it and decided not to look to deeply into it.

“I am acceptable,” Spock replied as the silence stretched. 

Jim nodded and replied, “If you ever want to talk, I’m always willing to listen.” Jim was about to go on, but his communicator beeped. He dug it out of his pocket and flipped it open. 

“Kirk, here.” He acknowledged. 

“This is Admiral Curry. We need you here at headquarters right away. You haven’t left town yet, have you?” Curry sounded distracted. 

“No, I was just about to board the shuttle. I had some things to get in order back in Iowa. Is it urgent?” Jim noticed that Spock seemed very interested in the conversation. He had is eyebrow raised in silent inquiry, but Jim wasn’t going to tell him anything. Spock didn’t have clearance for any of these conversations. Jim knew that nothing of any importance would be said over a communicator, but he didn’t want to arouse Spock’s suspicion any farther. The guy was already to close to figuring out some of the secrets that Jim was keeping. 

“Yes, it is a very important matter and needs to be handled quickly. How fast can you get here?” 

“I’ll be there right away, sir. Kirk out.” Jim snapped his communicator shut and turned to Spock.

“I guess I’ll see you in five days. If you need anything, just let me know. All right?” 

“I appreciate your concern. However, it is not needed. Why are you in contact with Admiral Curry? He is in charge of the Starfleet Mission Operation Center, is he not?” Spock inquired. 

Spock knew of Admiral Curry’s reputation. He had heard that Admiral Curry was a hard man to deal with. Why was Jim associating with someone like him? Admiral Curry was the type of man that Jim usually hated to deal with. 

Jim was watching Spock and trying to gauge how much he knew of Admiral Curry. He couldn't really tell what Spock knew, but answered the question anyway. 

“I had to send in a report to him. He probably just wants to go over it.” Jim knew that was a lame excuse, but he didn’t really have time to think of anything better. 

“I need to go, but I’ll see you in five days.” Jim turned and headed back towards the entrance leaving Spock behind. He knew why Curry was calling, and it couldn't be anything good. 

*******

 

When he got to Curry’s office, Jim knocked once on the door and pushed it open. He knew that Curry would be waiting for him.

Curry was an older man with balding hair. He was slightly overweight and a sneer seamed to be permanently etched on his face. He looked up from the PADD he was reading and gave Jim a brief nod.

“Have a seat, Kirk. I will brief you on the situation.” 

Jim walked over to the chair and sat down. It was an uncomfortable chair, and Jim thought the reason Curry had the most uncomfortable furniture was to torment anyone who had to talk to him. His office was stark and impersonal, too. The guy was a total dick to anyone he thought was beneath him. The only good thing about his office was that Jim could look out the window at the skyline that was behind Curry’s head. The view was very pleasant compared to the rest of the office.

Curry didn’t bother with pleasantries. He just got straight to the point. 

“There has been an incident. A young woman by the name of Lenore Karidian broke into the archive facility and stole valuable information. We don’t know how she was able to leave the planet, but she did. She is on her way to Adarak Prime. We have a weapons depot there, and if she completes her plans, all of the Federation could be at stake. She is supposedly meeting a buyer there. She needs to be stopped at all costs. If you and two of your former team can be on a ship in two hours, you will have a high chance of stopping her before she even sets foot on the planet. I know this is not ideal, but all the other teams are out on missions as we speak.” 

Jim just stared at him. He had guts to ask this of him. Jim had told him months ago that he didn’t want to do these black ops missions anymore. He hated lying to everyone around him, and he had a responsibility to his crew now.

“I told you that I don’t want to do these missions anymore, Admiral.”

Curry leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk. “You don’t really have a choice. I helped you get captaincy of the Enterprise, and I can take it away. This is a short, easy mission, especially compared to some of the missions you've been on. You will be back in two days tops. I expect you on the ship. Dismissed.” Curry reached for his PADD and ignored Jim going back to his reports. 

Jim was fuming. He couldn't believe that the Admiral had just threatened to blackmail him if he didn’t go on this mission. Curry didn’t even acknowledge that Jim didn’t want to do this. He was not going to get away with this. There were too many good people dying on these missions, and many of them didn’t want to even go on them. Curry needed to be stopped, but first Jim needed to stop Lenore Karidian.

Jim stood stiffly and walked out the door. He had two team members to find, and he knew just where they would be. 

 

********

 

Lenore Karidian chatted happily to her father, Anton, as she sat at the table in his room. Her long, blonde hair was swaying back and forth in her excitement. She was glad that the mission her father gave her had gone without a hitch. 

Now, she was retelling the events to her father on his ship. She and her father were part of a group a traveling actors, and they had been planning the downfall of the corrupt Starfeet for a long time now. Lenore and the rest of the traveling company were the most renowned actors there were, and they had a ship of their own. It wasn’t a very big ship. Just a small independent craft that was able to get them to and from places, but it was her home. She had grown up on this ship, and the people here were her family. She would do anything to protect them.

“Sweetheart, did you give the information to Marcus? It is very important that he gets it.” Anton was making tea for him and Lenore in the small kitchen area of his suite. Since he was the leader of this group, he got the best rooms on the ship. It was still quite small but compared to the other rooms it was luxurious. There was a small kitchen and living space separated by a breakfast bar. A door in the living space lead to a bathroom that was connected to Lenore’s room.

He carried the tea over to the table and sat down next to Lenore. His daughter was the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She had surpassed her mother’s beauty when she was only fifteen, and he thought she just got more beautiful every day. Her slender frame, blonde hair and blue eyes attracted many men, and hopefully, he could use her beauty to his advantage. 

“Yes, Daddy. He took care of it. Now, what’s next in this plan of ours?” 

“Well, we wait. They will send their best team after us which includes James Tiberius Kirk. You are going to seduce him, and when the time is right, we will destroy his whole world. What will Starfleet think of him, when they see that he was involved with its destruction? They will persecute him, and we will be there to watch. Do you think you will be able to do this, honey?”

“I will do whatever needs to be done for the greater good of this family. I love you, Daddy. He destroyed our family. Mother would be here with us, if not for him. He needs to pay for what he has done.” Lenore got up from the small table and walked around to her father. She leaned down and gave him a hug. “Everything will be okay.”

Anton patted his daughter on the back. He was so proud of her. She was everything he wanted in a daughter. “I know. Now, it’s been a long day, and you need to get ready for the next part of the plan. Did you see the beautiful, new clothing I bought for you?”

“Yes, they’re so pretty. Thank you, Daddy.” Lenore released her father and made her way to her room. She had to look beautiful for the incoming guests.


	5. Chapter 5

The gym wasn’t very busy at this time of day, which was perfect for Spock. He hadn’t been dealing with his emotions very well. He had spent most of the morning meditating, trying to find that perfect calm, but something wasn’t quite right. At first, he attributed it to his relationship status with Nyota, but as time wore on, his shields and emotions were still unbalanced. Sparing or exercising in general would hopefully restore him to equilibrium.

With the gravity controls set higher than normal, Spock started punching the bag and let his mind wonder. He couldn't help thinking about the strange call from Admiral Curry. There was no report that needed to be filed with him, and the way Jim tensed when he had heard who commed him made Spock uneasy. There was talk going around the Admirals, when he was teaching here, about an unsanctioned military team. If Jim was involved in any of that, there could be huge ramifications for the crew. Maybe he should look into it. Doctor McCoy seemed to know the Captain well, and if anyone knew what the Captain was involved in, it would be Doctor McCoy. 

With this plan of attack decided, Spock felt sorted and quickly realized that the bag would need to be replaced. He steadied the bag and took off the boxing tape on his hands. The shirt he had folded neatly on the floor was picked up and put back on. Spock felt more in control as he walked out of the room. It was time to question Doctor McCoy. 

 

***********

 

“There has to be a way to stop him. These missions aren’t safe anymore. More and more good agents are getting killed needlessly because he keeps putting unqualified people in charge of the team. Tucker, just last month, died because Gavin was put in charge of the mission. Gavin doesn’t care if all the members of a team come back. He just loves to kill and torture. The guy is a total nut job, and I’ll bet he didn’t even pass his psych evals, but he still works for Starfleet. Curry needs to be stopped.”

“Tuckers dead? Shit he was a good guy. I met him a few times. He always could make you laugh with one of his stories.” Jim closed his eyes and just shook his head. He knew Curry was bad, but he didn’t think he was stupid enough to keep risking the lives of the people serving on these missions. The more people that died the more attention he would get, and if he wanted to stay in power with this program, he needed to keep the attention away from it. “Well, have you guys started working on a plan to take him down? You know I’m in.”

“Yeah we have the bare bones of a plan, but you were always the one to make it succeed. We were thinking that since he has been threatening so many of us we could bring it to the other Admiral’s attention. I think Archer would be a good replacement as head of the program, if they decide to keep doing it. We need to get back to the roots of this program. The whole idea of having a black ops team was to get information and protect those that couldn't be protected through the law. Now, all we’re doing is chasing money and trying to steal things that we can’t get legally.” Eames was pissed at the way things were going with these missions. He and Jim had worked together for a long time, and they had gotten through worse situations than these, but it still pissed him off. 

Eames was a big, bulky guy with dark brown skin. He was trained as a field medic and communications linguistic, but could be handy in any situation. 

Thomas Leighton was the third member of the team. He was a scientist and when he wasn’t trying to find a new synthetic food for the planets with severe famine, he was working these missions. “I agree. The only good thing about this mission is that the three of us get to work together again. When was the last time just the three of us worked together? It’s been awhile.” 

“That it has.” Eames got up from his seat in the small cockpit. After Jim had found them in the back corner of the bar at their old haunt, they had found a small shuttle that was built for speed to get them to Adarak Prime. The shuttle was built for a two man team, and it was a tight fit, but they made it work. Hopefully, they wouldn't be gone more than a couple of days. 

“How is Martha doing? I haven’t seen her in a while.” Jim asked as he flipped the switch on the control panel. 

Martha was Thomas’s wife, and they had been together for about two years. They had met in a rather unusual place. It was at a memorial for the lost lives on Tarsus IV. She had lost her aunt and uncle’s whole family, and he had lost almost everyone he knew. They had talked about it a few times together, but he would never tell her some of the stuff that had happened. It was to painful to remember, and thankfully she had never pressed him to talk. He loved her so much. 

Thomas smiled as he thought about his wife and the wonderful news she had just told him this morning. “Well, let’s just say that this is the last mission I am going on.”

“What? Why?” Eames looked over towards Thomas.

Jim just started ginning. “She is pregnant isn’t she?” 

“How do you always know? It’s like you can tell the future.”

“You’re smiling like a dope, and your eyes are all lit up. You just have this glow about you.”

Thomas reached across and smacked Jim in the arm. He couldn't stop grinning though. Eames and Jim just kept laughing, and Thomas finally joined in.

“Congratulations, Thomas. You know Jim and I are really happy for you. You better watch out though. Jim is going to corrupt this kid.”

“Hey now. I will be the best godfather ever!” 

“Who said you were the godfather? What if I want to be the godfather? Just kidding. I call dibs on being Uncle D. You can have the title of godfather. It’s too much responsibility for me.” Eames replied ginning. 

Thomas looked at both. “Well, that’s settled then. Jim will you be the godfather to my child, and Eames you are going to be the Uncle. Don’t think that gets you out of babysitting duty though. I expect you both to visit when you’re in town.”

“Oh, we will be there so much you’ll get sick of us. I am so excited!” Jim was happy for Thomas, but for the first time in a long time he wondered if he could commit to someone in a forever kind of way. Ever since those fateful years in his childhood, he hadn’t been able to give his heart to anyone. He had loved once already, and it hadn't ended pretty. He never had understood the saying ‘it’s better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.’ Loving someone and losing them was the hardest thing he had ever done, and Jim didn’t think he could survive if it happened again. That was part of the reason he slept around. It was also why he was trying to get Spock out of his head. He knew if Spock was interested he would never go for a one off, and Jim wasn’t ready for more. 

“We’ll have to have a party when we get back. We can invite everyone.”

“You’re just using that as an excuse to party. The things you would do throw a party.” Thomas told Eames. Eames always did enjoy a good party. He was always up for a bit of fun. 

“That is true, but he’s right. We should at least have a small get together. This is something to celebrate. It’s a big moment in your life.” Jim was ginning just thinking about seeing all his friends that he hadn’t seen in some time.

“All right. The day after we get back let’s get everyone together for dinner. That work?” Thomas asked.

Both Jim and Eames nodded. It was going to be a good night, but first they had to get through this mission. 

A brief silence fell between them as they got back to work. 

 

***********

Lenore stared at herself in the mirror. The new lingerie her father had picked out for her made her look magnificent, if she did say so herself. The ship they were in had docked over two hours ago, and they had gotten a room in the nicest hotel on the very edge of the city. The woods out back were a perfect place to hide a body. According to the receptionist, no one ventured into the woods, especially at night do to wild animals and dangerous fauna. The planet had some sort of law to protect some of the natural wildlife, otherwise the receptionist said they would have created a new attraction for guests. This protection law worked well in Lenore’s favor.

She smiled as she thought about what she had to do. She didn’t want anyone to take her father away from her, and those nine witnesses could do that. She had already disposed of Molson. They wouldn't find his body for a while, so she had time to plan for the rest of them. They would never see her coming. 

The best part of this whole plan was that no one except her father’s contact from Starfleet knew who her father truly was, and by the time they figured it out, all the witnesses would be dead. Her father’s contact had just confirmed that James Kirk and his team were following them. They had taken the bait, and everything was going according to plan. The next step was to separate them. 

Marcus wanted revenge on Eames for something in the past. It had something to do with Marcus’s eye. Apparently, when they had been on Tarsus IV, Eames had managed to shove a burning stick into his eye. He was forever complaining about not being able to see, and how he was going to slowly kill Eames. Lenore was kind of disappointed she wouldn't get to kill them all. She would have liked to kill the whole set, but as long as Marcus slowly killed Eames it was fine. She made him promise to let her watch, and she couldn't wait. 

They had gotten some new technology too, and her father had promised she could play around with it on their guests. One of the new toys she was really looking forward to using was a sonic psi controller. It was supposed to make the target scream from imagined pain. There were reports of memory loss, death, and coma like side effects. She really hoped they didn’t die right away. There was so much she could do with them, but first they had to be separated.

Marcus would lure Eames to him by pretending to be a buyer for the stolen weapon plans. Her father would take care of Thomas Leighton, and she got James Kirk. Her daddy had warned her not to be charmed by him and let him live, but he really shouldn't have bothered. She just really loved to kill. The power she felt as she watched the life slowly slip out of their eyes was the best feeling in the world. 

Lenore twirled around and watched as the fabric moved around her body. Her hands slowly slid up her body to cup her breasts. The smile on her face as she thought about killing the nine Tarsus IV witnesses showed just how truly crazy she was. Chaos, death and destruction were coming, and she would be there to witness it.


	6. Chapter 6

Bones had only been with his daughter for a few hours when his communicator beeped. He knew nothing good had happened when his communicator went off, and nine times out of ten it involved Jim somehow. 

“I’ve got to take this, sweetheart. I’ll just be a minute.” Bones said to Jo. She nodded, and he walked a little ways away to answer the call. With his back towards her, Jo was able to quietly move closer and eavesdrop on the conversation. Jo knew she shouldn't listen in, but if her Uncle Jim was in trouble again, she wanted to help. 

“Doctor McCoy here.”

“Doctor, this is Spock. I was calling for information regarding the Captain. It has come to my attention that he is in contact with Admiral Curry. As you know, the Enterprise is part of Admiral Pike’s feet. There should be no reason the Captain is in contact with Admiral Curry. Do you know anything about this?” Spock got right to the point. 

“Good to hear from you too, Spock.” Bones said rolling his eyes as he tried to digest what was just said to him. “No, I haven’t heard from him since I left. I’m in Georgia right now with my daughter, but I’m sure its no big deal. Why are you so concerned?” 

“The Captain got a call while I was in his presence. When he heard who was calling, he tensed and seemed very nervous. It was highly unusual behavior, and the last time I had seen such behavior was during the Magna Roma visit, in which Jim didn’t tell us the details of the mission. Jim also had bought a shuttle ticket to Iowa and was about to leave, but the call caused him to change his plans.”

“You do know that he is the Captain. Maybe, he can’t tell you what is going on because of clearance levels.” Seriously, Spock should have thought of this already, Bones thought to himself as he rolled his eyes and started to tease Spock. “Are you alright? I think the hobgoblin is showing some em,-” Bones stopped talking. The pieces were coming together and the picture it was showing was a bad one. 

“Doctor? What has transpired? Doctor?” Spock’s voice roused Bones out of his thoughts. 

“Yeah, Spock I’m fine. I just remembered something. Do you know where Jim is now?” Bones asked urgently, worry slightly creeping into his voice. 

“The Captain has left the planet and isn’t expected to return until shore leave is over.”

“Shit. Spock we have to go after him. The stupid kid has gone and got himself into trouble once again. Have you ever heard of the Mcnair Program?”

“Yes. It program for exceptionally gifted cadets. The curriculum is more accelerated with a more diverse list of general classes. If I remember correctly, the Captain was in this program was he not?”

Bones signed. “Yes, he was in the program, but I’m almost positive that is not the only thing the program does. It’s a cover for secret black ops missions. Jim never came right out and told me that, but I lived with him for three years. I put the pieces together. There were times he would come back exhausted and bruised. Sometimes, he came back bloody. I patched him up the best I could and tried to talk him out of doing it, but he always said it was from roughhousing in the gym. It is also known that Admiral Curry is in charge of the Mcnair Program. I’ll bet you anything, he was the one that sent him off planet. We need to find Jim. He almost didn’t come back last time. Curry is off his rocker. Have you seen the death reports of those under his command? It’s higher than any of the Admirals.” Bones was growing more and more frustrated ranking his hand through his hair causing it to stand up at weird angles. 

“I agree. I will find out what I can. If what you are saying is true, then the rest of the Admiralty should hear about it. Starfleet is peacekeeping and humanitarian organization. I will contact Admiral Pike and inform him of the situation. Thank you for your help, Doctor.”

“Spock. Keep me informed. I will be out there as soon as I can.”

“I will keep you appraised of the situation. However, there is no need for you to come back.”

“I’m coming back Spock, and that’s final.” 

“Very well. Spock out.”

“Goodbye to you too.” Bones muttered to himself as he snapped his communicator closed. He let out a deep sigh and rolled his shoulders. He really didn’t want to leave Joanna, but his best friend was in trouble. This was going to break her heart. He turned around and made his way over to her. 

Jo was sitting under the willow tree on her phone probably playing some stupid game. He never could keep up with the current ‘in’ thing. 

“Hey Jo,” He said as he sat next to her on the ground. “I am going to have to leave earlier than planned. Something came up, and it’s an emergency.”

Jo looked up from her phone, and frowned. “You promised you could stay all five days. I never get to see you anymore.”

“I know sweetheart, and I’m sorry. I wish I could take you with me, but you have a life here, and it’s too dangerous out there. Maybe when you’re a little older, you can come with. Besides, there is no way your mother would let you come with me, not with her wedding coming up. You get to be the maid of honor, and I know you don’t want to miss that.”

Jo made a face. “You know I have no desire to be in the wedding. I hate him. He is a dick.”

“Watch your language.” Bones signed. He really did want to spend more time with her. “Your mother has custody of you, and I’ve tried to fight it. You just have to stay here for the time being. You know I would quit Starfleet in a heartbeat, if you could live with me. I love you, and I want you to remember that. Okay?” Bones leaned over, pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. 

“I know, Dad. I love you too. I just miss you.” She hugged him back tightly and made her decision. 

“I miss you too.”

They sat there for a moment and just enjoyed the day. The breeze was gently blowing across the land, and the horses were grazing in the pasture. Bones loved coming back to his family’s ranch. It was the one place other than the Enterprise that he felt at home. 

This ranch had been in his family for generations, and he was glad that his daughter got to spend some time here. The barn was in rough shape on the outside but the inside was as sturdy as could be. The house had a wrap around porch with a swing to sit in during the warm summer evenings. He would always remember sitting on the swing in the summer listening to crickets and talking quietly with his mama. They never got to do that as much these days because of work. He should really come home more often. Sometimes, he missed this life and the simplicity of it. 

His horse Argo came trotting up to the fence and whined as if he could see through the leaves of the tree. Argo was a stubborn horse and would only let Bones ride him. The tall black stallion whined again. He seemed to know that Bones was going to leave soon. 

“Y’all come in for dinner.” The summons was sent from the house from the tiny woman with greying hair. Her appearance fooled everyone. People would just look at her and assume that she was a quiet old lady, but that was as far from the truth as could be. Eleanora McCoy was one tough lady, and no one wanted to be on her bad side. She knew her son and granddaughter were hiding behind the branches of the big willow tree. That used to be her hiding spot when she was a little girl, but every once and awhile she would go sneak back out there. The peace and clam atmosphere couldn't be found anywhere else. 

She watched them with a smile on her wrinkled face as they came out from behind the branches and made their way over to the house. Bones stepped up onto the porch and bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, Mama. Thanks for making dinner. I’m starving.”

She sighed. She knew that look on his face. Something had happened and he would be leaving again sooner than expected. She missed her baby, but he had his own life to live, and she was proud of the man he had become. “You’re always hungry. Go wash your hands, the both of you, and I expect you both for clean up duty.” 

“Ugh. I hate cleanup duty.”

“Well then, young lady, you should have helped cook. You know the rules around here.”

Bones just smiled at his two favorite girls. He knew Jo loved coming here, and she knew she was always welcome at her grandmother’s home, but Jo’s mother didn’t like it when she came here. 

“I hate cooking even more. I’ll take my chances with dad in the kitchen.” 

They all walked through the living room and into the kitchen where Bones and Jo washed their hands. The family dinner table was set on the other side of the breakfast bar. There was a doorway that lead out to the porch behind the table. This side of the house opened up to the road and showed the long driveway that lead to the door. 

The food was already on the table. Eleanora had made potatoes and steak with a side of corn. She knew it was Leonard's favorite dinner. They made small talk and chatted happily around the dinner table. It was at times like this, Eleanora wished her husband was here. 

He had gotten sick about a year after Leonard and his wife had gotten married. Leonard had never admitted it, but she figured that was part of the reason they had gotten a divorce. Leonard had spent so much time trying to find a way to save his father, but he didn’t succeed in time. He did find the cure to one of the only cancers that was still around today. She was proud of him even though he blamed himself for not finding the cure fast enough, but with his discovery he had saved many lives. She knew if he was still here today, he would be proud of his son and everything he had done. It was too bad his ex-wife was such a bitch, she thought to herself. The only good thing to come out of the marriage was her grand-baby. Joanna was a smart and confident young girl, and Eleanora hoped her crazy mother didn’t hurt her. Joanna deserved the best. 

At that moment, Jo spoke up. “Grams, can I have some apple pie? It smells so good.” Jo loved her grandmother’s pie. No one else could make it the way she did. One of these days she and her grandmother should make it together so she could learn the secret ingredient, Jo thought to herself. 

“Of course, honey.” Eleanora made to get up, but Leonard waved her down. 

“I’ll get it.” He stood up and walked into the kitchen to grab the pie that was cooling on the counter. Bringing it back to the table, he heard Jo asking if she could learn how to bake it. He smiled at the thought. 

As dessert ended, Bones knew he had to tell his mother that he was leaving. He had been dreading this moment since he came in because he knew how much she missed him. 

“Mamma, I have to,-” 

“I know. You have to go back to Starfleet and save the world again.” She cut in with a smile. “You wouldn't be my son if you weren’t trying to save people. I raised you right, and I want you to always remember that no matter what I am proud of you. The next time you visit you better bring James back with you. Ya hear? That boy needs some proper motherly love.”

“I hear ya. I will bring him back.” Bones stepped closer to her and gave her a hug. He leaned in and whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too, honey. Promise you’ll be safe?”

“Promise.”

“Good. Now, go finish the dishes with your daughter. Are you going to stay for breakfast?” 

“Nah. I head out late tonight.”

Eleanora smiled in acknowledgment and made her way to the living room for some reading.

As her dad made his way into the kitchen carrying plates and silverware, Jo commented from the sink, “It’s about time you got your butt in here. I thought you were going to make me do it all, and then I would have told Grams, and she would have given you a talking to.” Jo thought it was hilarious that her dad still got a talking to. As long as she wasn’t in trouble with him, it was funny. 

“I would never leave you with all the work. Am I drying, or do you want me to wash the rest of those and you dry?” He asked as he set more dishes next to the sink. 

“I’ll dry.” They switched places, and talked about how Jo was doing in school and what she was learning. The conversation flowed easily around them in the peaceful atmosphere. 

The last dish was just being rinsed off and water splashed up hitting Jo in the face. Bones started laughing at the startled look on Jo’s face. He wasn’t laughing long when Jo reached over and cupped some water in her hands and flung it had him. A water fight broke out between the two, and the ruckus caused Eleanora to come to the doorway. She smiled at their antics, but decided not to join them. Someone needed to be the grownup in this house. She let it go on for another few minutes before she interrupted them. 

“You both best be cleaning this kitchen up before you go to bed.” She sounded stern, but she had a smile on her face. She loved having them both here. It was too bad James didn’t come this time. He was like another son to her. 

“Dad started it!”

“We’ll clean it up. Don’t worry Mamma.”

Jo made a face at Bones and went to find a towel. She came back with two in her hands and threw one to Bones. He caught it easily, and together they started to clean up the kitchen. This was the best night that Joanna had had in a very long time. She didn’t want to leave and go back to her mother. 

After they finished cleaning the kitchen, they went to join Eleanora in the living room. The rest of the night was quiet and peaceful. 

It was later than she usually stayed up when Jo was started to nod off, so she called it a night and went to her room. Her father was going to take the zero one hundred shuttle back to San Francisco. If Jo wanted to follow her father there, she would have to pack light and try not to get caught by him at least until they reached San Francisco. If she made it that far he probably wouldn't send her back home. It’s not like she would miss school either. They were on spring break. She knew what she was doing was dangerous and could get her into a ton of trouble, but her Uncle Jimmy was in trouble, and she was going to help her dad save him. 

Jo quietly packed a backpack with all the essentials. She had water, food, clothing, toiletries, and all the money she had, which was quite a bit after saving for a few years. She hid the bag under her bed and quickly got under the covers as she heard the sound of her dad’s boots on the stairs. 

The gentle knock on her door caused her to call out, “Come in.”

“Hey, sweetheart. I just wanted to say goodbye before you went to bed. Promise you will be good and listen to your grandma, okay?” Bones said as he stood silhouetted in the doorway. The light from the moon cast shadows on everything in the room. 

“I’ll be fine. You worry too much.” 

Bones smiled and walked over to give her a hug. “I’ll miss you, love bug.”

“I’ll miss you too. I love you”

“Love you, too. Goodnight.”

“Night.” Jo replied and watched him walk out of the room closing the door behind him. She reached for her phone and set her alarm. She figured she might as well get as much sleep as she could before she spent the rest of the night on a shuttle.


	7. Chapter 7

The alarm went off at what felt like minutes later, but was really only a few hours. Groggy and slightly disoriented, Jo took a few minutes to wake up. When she remembered what she was going to do, she sat up and had a moment of panic. Was this really a good idea? Her dad was more than capable of finding Uncle Jimmy and helping him out of whatever trouble he had gotten into. Then she remembered the wedding and her soon to be stepfather. She needed to get away. She couldn't go back there. Her step-father always made her feel uncomfortable. He had never done anything outright to her, but some of the comments he made had creeped her out, and she tried to avoid him at all costs. She had tried to tell her mother that she didn’t like him, but she never listened. This was her chance to get away and do something meaningful.

Jo threw the covers off of her and got ready for her adventure. She could hear her dad getting ready to leave downstairs. The low murmurs of her grandma and dad helped calm her nerves. The bed needed to look like someone was sleeping in it, so Jo tucked some pillows under the covers. It wouldn't hold for long in the morning, but it would buy enough time to make it to San Francisco. She grabbed her backpack and walked over to the window. This was her room for a reason. It was the easiest room to sneak out of thanks to the tree right outside. She waited in the shadows of the house for her dad to get into the taxi that was taking him to the city. It was only a ten minute cab ride, but it would take her about half an hour by horse. 

When her dad finally left, she raced to the barn and saddled up Argo. Her dad thought that he was the only one that could ride him, but he hadn’t been around for all the times she would sneak over here and ride him. Jo was pretty sure Grams knew that she could ride him, but she didn’t think Grams had told dad about that yet. 

Argo whined as the saddle was put on him. He stood still, and seemed to know that whatever was going on was important. Climbing up, Jo adjusted her backpack and made sure the coast was clear. Together, they took off into the silent, deserted night and made their way to the outskirts of town. 

 

********

 

Once they arrived at the edge of town, Jo climbed down. She gave Argo a hug and whispered, “Thanks, boy. You need to go home now.” Jo stepped back and gave Argo a big smack on the butt to get him to move. He whined and reared up startled. He trotted a few feet away before he stopped and turned around back towards Jo. It was almost like he knew what she was doing and didn’t approve. 

“I know what I’m doing. I have to help dad. I promise I will be careful, but you need to go home. Please.” Argo just continued to stare at her. “Ugh! Argo! Go home.” Jo didn’t know what she was going to do if Argo didn’t turn around and go home. She reached over and gave him a pat on his nose. Argo whined again and butted his snout on her head as if telling her to be careful. He then turned around and started trotting back the way they had come. 

Jo sighed. She was happy he was going home, but now she felt more alone than ever. She adjusted her backpack, turned around, and started to make her way into town.

The town was small. There were about nine hundred or so people that lived here, and the main street consisted mostly of bars and banks. Most of the people at this time of night were at the bars, so Jo made sure to avoid them. 

The shuttle station was small which was both a good and bad thing. It was good because it allowed her to find her father easily. The downside was that he could easily spot her. Jo found a seat in the corner out of the way and watched her father from across the room. There were only about fifteen other people in the room so she had to be careful not to be seen. The blue plastic seats were really uncomfortable to sit in, but it wasn’t long before boarding began. 

Jo waited for her father to board and watched him find a seat through the window. She took note of where he sat so she could sit as far from him as possible. As she made her way over to the shuttle entrance, she dug into her pocket for her credit chip. This was going to cost a lot of money. 

The shuttle driver gave her a curious look but let her on without a fuss. Jo breathed a sign of relief that the make up she wore made her look slightly older than she really was, and took a seat near the front. So far, her mission was going as planned. Now, she just had to spend the next several hours bored on a shuttle. It was going to be a long ride, especially since she was too scared to sleep alone on a shuttle. She dug into her backpack for her PADD and got lost in the world of books.

 

*********

 

Many hours later, after a couple of stops and bathroom breaks, Jo hurried off the shuttle and into the late California sun. She quickly walked away from the shuttle toward a bench on the other side of the street and turned around to watch were her dad was headed. 

There were many people milling about chatting happily to one another. Someone wearing what looked to be a toga was shouting about the end of the world, and farther down the street, two people were playing guitars and singing for money. 

With everything going on around her, Jo got distracted and lost her dad in the crowd. She started to panic and pushed her way through the steady stream of people. Jo caught a glimpse of him up ahead and followed him through the crowd. After a few blocks, the crowd thinned, and she was more easily able to follow. She watched as he made his way into the Starfleet building. Jo knew she would not be able to get into the building undetected, so she glanced around and saw a small quiet cafe that was in sight of the building. She decided to get something to eat and watch for her father to leave. She really hoped that he wouldn't leave through some other door, or she would be in serious trouble. 

**********

Bones made his way over to Starfleet headquarters. He had tried several times to get into contact with Spock, but there had been no answer. That was unusual in and of itself. The next place to check was with Admiral Pike. Maybe he knew what was going on. 

Bones found Admiral Pike’s office easily and knocked on the door. 

“Come.” Pike said from behind the closed door. 

Bones opened the door and walked in. 

Pike looked up from his PADD and signed. “Don’t tell me. You’re here about Kirk, too. That kid cannot stay out of trouble. Take a seat.”  
Bones took a seat in the chair across from Pike, the ornate desk between them. 

“Tell me about it. Can you tell me what you know?”

“Computer engage privacy lock.”

“Privacy lock engaged,” the cool robotic female voice said. 

Bones didn’t bat an eye at the increased security. He figured it might come to this. 

“What I am about to tell you does not leave this room. Understood?” Pike asked in a serious tone. 

“Understood.” This was not going to be good. 

“It has been brought to my and some of the other admirals attentions that the McNair program is not at all what it is supposed to be. There have been investigations going on for some time now. Admiral Curry has been suspected in certain breaches in security, and not following protocols. The investigation is still ongoing, but the McNair program is really a secret blac-”

“Yeah, I know a black ops program, and somehow, Jim is involved.” Bones cut in trying to hurry the conversation along. “My question is where is Jim now?”

Pike raised his eyebrow and gave Bones a dirty look but answered anyway. “Well, you seem to know a lot about this, but to answer your question Jim appears to be on a mission with two other Starfleet officers, Thomas Leighton and D. Eames.” 

“Shit. I knew it. Do you know where they went? We need to go after them.”

Pike exhaled loudly and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Spock just left the planet to go after him this morning. He was of the same opinion as you. I will tell you what I told him. What you do on your shoreleave is your business, but you damn well better report for duty when your time is up. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“Good. They went to Adarak Prime. The next shuttle leaves in an hour. Now, care to explain why you need to go chasing after Jim? He has done these missions before, and he knew what he was getting into. I don’t really understand why the two of you are so worried about this.”

Bones stared at Pike for a moment wondering if he should tell him. “The last mission Jim went on for Curry, he almost didn’t make it back. I’ve been looking into Curry, too, and I noticed that the people that serve under him don’t have a very good survival rate.”

“Yeah, that has been brought to our attention. I want to know why Jim never mentioned this to anyone before though. If these kinds of things are going on around here, the Admiralty needs to know. I don’t like this program at all.” 

“You and me both.” Bones stood to leave. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, just bring him back safely. Good luck. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

Bones grunted and made his way out of the room. 

 

*****************

 

The bagel was delicious and just what she needed after hours on a public shuttle. Jo had inhaled half of it within seconds and was savoring the last half wondering if her dad left through another door. She was starting to get worried. Jo glanced around at the other customers in the shop. She was glad no one was paying attention to her. When she looked back out the window, she saw her dad coming out the door and heading in the opposite direction they had come from. She grabbed the rest of her bagel and hurried to the door, stopping to throw away her trash before chasing after her dad. 

As she walked, she munched on the bagel and tried to figure out where he was going. It looked like he was heading for the Starfleet shuttles. If that was the case, there was no way she was getting on board. She needed to come up with a plan. 

She watched as her father boarded a shuttle. Jo did not come all this way to be stopped now. She had to figure out a way to get on it without them arresting her. When a commotion was caused by a passenger trying to bring an extra bag on board, Jo saw her chance. She snuck past the attendant and saw a small emergency storage closet just inside the entrance of the shuttle. Without thinking about it too hard, she opened the door and squeezed herself in. There was barely any room and with the door shut it was completely dark. She took deep breaths and calmed her racing heart. Crouching down she moved some stuff aside and sat on the floor. She hoped it wasn’t too long of a journey. 

Some time later, the shuttle started vibrating signaling take off. Jo clung to the wall trying not to freak out. She pulled out her PADD and started to read. She needed a distraction, or she would go crazy. 

It wasn’t until the vibrations stopped and the silence reigned, that Jo opened her eyes. She scrambled up realizing she had fallen asleep. This could not be happening to her. She didn’t even know where she was. Cautiously opening the door, Jo peered out. Seeing no one, she grabbed her bag stuffing her PADD inside and making her way out and off of the shuttle. 

Jo took one look around and didn’t recognize anything. She was in a shuttle bay and people were moving about. No one was paying attention to her, and she didn’t see her dad anywhere. Panic was starting to set in. What would she do if she couldn't find her dad? She was going to be in so much trouble, if she even made it out of here alive. 

Deciding to follow someone and see if she was lead to a door, Jo felt someone grab her shoulder. She jumped.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here? You are not authorized to be here.” The voice belonged to a young man. He looked about eighteen with light brown hair. He wore a red Starfleet shirt that Jo knew signified he was with security. 

“Sorry. I am looking for Dr. McCoy. I got separated from him.” 

“There were no additional personal listed on the log, and Dr. McCoy never indicated that he brought another passenger along. You will come with me. This is a breach of security. Dr. McCoy will be notified.”

Jo almost started crying. She had never meant for her father to get into trouble. He grabbed her arm, and they started walking, avoiding the different people milling about. He lead her through a door, down a long corridor, and into a sickbay where she immediately spotted her father talking to an older man. 

“Doctor McCoy, do you know this girl?” The man who lead her here asked.

Jo didn’t wait. She tugged her arm out of his grasp and ran over to her dad, where she threw her arms around him. 

Bones was not prepared for what hit him. He could not believe his eyes. Jo was standing here in the flesh, when she should be back home with her grandmother. He wrapped his arms around her when she hit him, and breathed deeply. However happy he was to see her, he was still really pissed. She could have gotten hurt or worse. 

“Yes, Lieutenant Riley. I know who this is. This is my daughter Joanna. And she is in so much trouble. Thank you for bringing her to me. I suppose this will have to go in an incident report?” Bones signed. He hated incident reports, and this time he could get into some legal trouble. What Jo did was reckless and could have gone very badly. 

“It’s all right. I won’t mention it to security. Just add her to the personal log and get in contact with Admiral Pike. Let him know what’s going on.”

“Thanks, Lieutenant. Pike should know what’s going on. I will send him a message.”

Lieutenant Riley turned to go but hesitated at the last moment. “I heard about the Captain. I would like to join you on getting them back. Eames and Thomas are really good friends of mine.”

Bones glanced around sharply to make sure they were not being overheard. The man he was talking to earlier was across the room talking to two nurses, and everyone else seemed busy with their assigned tasks. “How did you hear about that? That is classified information, and we really shouldn't be talking about it here.” Bones whispered angrily. 

“I’ve always known about it. I’m part of the program, too. I was supposed to go with them, but I was in sickbay when they shipped out. You are going to need all the help you can get Doctor because I don’t think you know what you are getting yourself into.”

Bones clutched Jo tighter to him trying to decide if he should take him up on the offer. “All right. Meet me in two hours in hanger thirteen. We are taking a small shuttle to land. I am tracking Commander Spock’s location. Now, I need to give my daughter a lecture on safety and responsibility. I will see you then.”

Lieutenant Riley nodded in acknowledgment and strode away. 

Bones looked down at Jo and decided to take this to a conference room. 

“Come on.” He steered her into the room across from the door she had entered. The room had a small table and a couple of chairs. Bones grabbed one and looked at his daughter. 

“What are you doing here? You are in so much trouble, young lady. How did you even get here? I want an explanation now.”

Jo looked miserably down at her lap. “I didn’t mean to get you into trouble. I’m sorry. I just heard you talking to Spock about Uncle Jim, and I wanted to help. So, I took Argo and rode him to town and followed you onto the shuttle to San Francisco. Then, I waited for you in a cafe while you were in Starfleet headquarters, and when you came out, I followed you to the ship yard. The attendant was arguing with someone, so I was able to sneak on, and I hid in the emergency storage. I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but I was so tired. When I woke up, the ship was quiet, and you were gone. Lieutenant Riley found me standing in the hanger bay and took me to you.” Jo said in a quick rush. She hoped he heard all of that because she did not want to repeat it. 

Bones just stared at her. How had he not noticed he was being followed, and how was his daughter this resourceful? He would never have been able to pull something like this off when he was thirteen years old. 

“Joanna, do you realize how dangerous this was? You could have been hurt or killed. There are rules in place for a reason. I know you care about Jim, but this is way out of line. Did you even think to leave a note? Your grandmother is going to be so worried and furious with you, not to mention your mother. She is going to flip out when she finds out about this.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I should have left a note or something, and I know this is dangerous, but dad I just want to help. I don’t care about mom either. She spends all her time with the her creepy boyfriend anyway, and I don’t want to be around him anymore than I have to.”

Bones paused. That didn’t sound right, and looking at Jo’s face she clearly didn’t mean to say that last part. “Jo what are you talking about? Did he do something?”

Jo wished the ground would swallow her up right about now. She shouldn't have said anything. She didn’t want to start anything. “Dad, he just creeps me out. He hasn’t done anything except say some weird things. Sometimes, he stares at me, but that’s about it. I tried talking to mom, and she just said that I should give him a chance and told me to stop making things up.”

“Shit. Jo this is serious.” Bones put his head in his hands and sighed. It seemed like everything that could go wrong was going wrong, and it was all happening at the same time. He looked up. “We will need to have a more in depth conversation about this later. I will be talking to your mother, and you won’t be going back there until this issue is looked into. I have to send a message to Admiral Pike, your mother and your grandmother. You are not to leave this room until I get back. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand.” Jo watched as her father go up. As he was about to walk through the door, she whispered, “Thank you for believing me and not making me go back there.”

Bones stopped and walked back over to her. He pulled her into a hug and said, “I love you, sweetheart. And I will always believe you. I just want you to be safe.” 

They broke apart, and Bones left to go send the messages.


	8. Chapter 8

The sun was beating down on his naked back gently warming him like a comfortable blanket. James was laying above T’lana kissing her in both the human and the Vulcan way. Their hands were intertwined on the blanket, and mouths locked in a furious embrace. She tasted like mint and smelled like the trees and outdoors. James couldn't get enough of her. 

She turned her head to break the kiss. 

“James, they are coming.” She groaned as he sucked a greenish mark onto her neck. 

James pulled away and looked at her confused. “Who’s coming?”

She looked him in the eyes. “You have to be careful. They are coming.”

He was starting to get worried now, and as he pulled his hand away from her side, he saw that it was covered in green blood. The warmth of it seeped into his skin, and James started to panic. He couldn't lose her. He didn’t know what to do. 

“T’lana! What happened?” He looked into her eyes and jerked back. They were cold, dead eyes that saw nothing of the world anymore. 

“T’lana.” He was screaming, and he couldn't stop. His head was pounding, and he couldn't catch his breath.

“Jim.” Distantly, he heard someone calling his name, but he couldn't answer them. He had to save T’lana. 

“Jim!” He couldn't leave her though. Who was calling? They were in the middle of no where. 

“JIM!!!” Jim jerked awake and promptly fell out of the chair he was napping in. It took him a few minutes to get his bearings. He looked up from the floor into the eyes of Eames and Thomas. Groaning, he pushed himself back up and sat in the chair again. 

“You all right? You look like you've seen a ghost.” Eames asked as he sat in the other chair. They both had worried expressions on their faces, and James didn't like it when they worried about him. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a bad dream. That’s all.” He answered running a hand through his hair not meeting their eyes. He hoped they would just drop it. 

“That seemed pretty intense to be a bad dream. Wanna talk about it?” Thomas asked. 

“No. I’m fine, really. How long was I out?” 

“Only a couple of hours. I was going to wake you soon anyway. It’s my turn for a power nap.” Thomas said. 

“Okay.” There was silence for a few minutes before James spoke up again, deciding that maybe he did want to talk about it. 

“It was just really weird. I’ve been having the same dream for about two weeks now. It’s always the same, and it’s really freaking me out.”

“What is it about? We can’t help you, if you don’t tell us.” Thomas replied while trying to find a decent position to sleep in on the chair. 

Jim sighed. “Do you remember T’lana?” Jim continued after getting nods from both of them. “I keep dreaming that she dies in my arms. Her last words are ‘they are coming.’ She repeats them over and over again. I don’t get it.” Jim pulled in shaky breath. He never liked talking about T’lana.

“Well, that is weird. Maybe your sub-conscience is trying to tell you something.” Eames said. 

“Yeah, but what?”

“I don’t know man. It’s your fucked up brain.” James smacked Eames in the arm, and all three of the laughed. Jim was glad Eames lightened up conversation, but he wished they had the answers. 

“I hope I figure it out soon because these dreams are annoying.”

“You will. Don’t think about it. It will come on its own.” Thomas said stifling a yawn. 

“Get some rest. I don’t want to think about it anymore.” James moved back to the console where he and Eames went back to work. They still had a few more hours to go before they got to Adarak Prime. 

 

***********

 

The vibrations and the noise of the docking procedures jarred Thomas out of his nap. He looked around him and noticed that Eames and Jim had everything under control, but he didn’t understand why they hadn't woken him sooner. 

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Had to let you get your beauty sleep. Your aren’t going to get any for quite some time with a new baby in the house.” Jim answered as he finished at the console. 

“Thanks I guess.”

The three of them packed up everything they needed and headed for the exist. They needed to set up a headquarters and find the girl and the buyer. They knew the meet was supposed to take place at a local bar called Bad Omens on the edge of town. The bar itself should be relatively easy to find, so they decided to get a room at a hotel near Bad Omens and use that as headquarters. It was close enough that they could walk or do surveillance if they needed to. 

Making their way through the city, Jim noticed the woods that ran parallel to the edge of it and how the locals seemed to stay as far from the woods as possible. Every time he glanced at the woods, he would get a bad feeling. It was like there was something dark and very dangerous that seemed to draw him in. 

Jim took a deep breath and pushed the feelings away. He didn’t have time for them. He had a job to do. 

Getting a room was easy enough. The teller at the counter seemed to think they were going to have a threesome or something by the looks she was giving them. Thomas was blushing by the time they got into the elevator from all the dirty innuendos Jim and Eames made. 

“Would you guys please stop? She probably thinks we’re kinky sex addicts now!” Thomas was so embarrassed. His request just made Jim and Eames start laughing. By the time they got to the room, Jim and Eames could barely breathe from laughing so hard. Thomas just shook his head at them and started to set their things up. It wasn’t long before Eames and Jim joined him, and they got down to business. 

The room was a small suite with two king beds, a balcony, a decent sized bathroom, and a small replicator. The wallpaper had horrendous floral patterns drawn on it since that was in style at the moment, but the beds were comfortable, and that was all that matter to them. 

“Who is going to get the info from Lenore? I know I don’t want to do it. Martha would skin me alive if I so much as looked at another woman. Besides, I’m not good at picking up or seducing women.” Thomas was hooking up the computer systems and checking to make sure everything was in order. 

Eames laughed and replied, “I think Jim should do it. He’s the one that gets off on it.”

“Hey now. You’re one to talk, and it’s not like that. I do what I have to do to get information. Besides, if she was your type you would be all over her.” Jim said as he unpacked his bag. 

“That’s true. He has you there, Eames.” Thomas said looking up from his PADD. 

Eames just smirked. “Well, I will go to the bar and see if I can spot the buyer before he comes in. If I don’t see anything, I’ll just wait around for the meet.”

“That’s fine with me. I want to see if I can find out more information on who the woman is. Curry didn’t give us much to go on. Maybe if we can find out more about her, we can figure out who she might be selling to. That leaves you with seducing her and switching out the information. Think you can handle that?” Thomas asked Jim in a teasing tone. 

Jim just rolled his eyes and tossed a pillow at Thomas’s head.

“Hey, I’m working here you ass.” Thomas responded and threw the pillow back at Jim. It missed its target.

“If that’s settled, I’m going to take a shower. Then we can go over the plan in more detail.” Jim said as he stood to go to the bathroom door. 

As soon as the shower started, Eames turned to Thomas and said, “I sure hope he gets laid. That guy has been tense since we started this mission.” Thomas just rolled his eyes. 

They continued to work in silence until Jim rejoined them. Discussion flowed easily between the three of them, and the hours until the meet was supposed to happen were shrinking rapidly. 

When everything was ready and their plans were all hashed out, Thomas looked at each of them in turn. “Well, this is it. Good luck, and for gods sake be careful.”

“Well, that was certainly better than your last pep-talk.” Eames said shaking his head. He would never understand why they always let Thomas give the last minute pep-talk. It was probably for the humor factor. Jim was just ginning. He loved the beginnings of missions with his team. 

“Shut up. I don’t know why you make me do the pep-talks. Next time, you can do it.”

“Nope. It wouldn't be the same. This is tradition. You have to do the pep-talks.” Jim was laughing now. 

Thomas just glared at both of them. “Jim, don’t you need to get going. Lenore isn’t going to hang around the restaurant all night. You need to casually run into her and..”

“Yeah, I know what to do. Thanks for finding out where she is, but I got this. Relax.” Jim interrupted him. 

“Okay. Okay.” Thomas reached out and pulled Jim in for a hug clapping him on the back. “Good luck.” He whispered into Jim’s ear. They pulled apart, and Jim turned to Eames. 

“You want a hug too?” Jim asked reaching for Eames. 

“Fine. We all know you love cuddling, and hugs.” Eames huffed out and returned the hug. Pulling apart, Jim made his way towards the door. “Good luck gentlemen,” were his last words before he disappeared through the doors. 

Out in the hallway, Jim made his way down the hall to the exit. He was hoping to get a chance to eat at the restaurant because he was hungry. They hadn’t really ate anything except for the nutritional bars. 

The restaurant was located a few blocks from them in another hotel. They had found out that Lenore Karidian was staying at the best hotel in the city on the edge of town. It didn’t surprise him in the slightest. It was almost like all the criminals would stay at the most extravagant places. He never understood why. As he was making his way out of the lobby, Jim froze in his tracks at what he heard. 

He could recognize that voice anywhere. Why the fuck was he here? Did he have any idea what was at stake? How the hell did he even find out where Jim was?

Jim slowed his stride to the door and quietly coughed letting him know he was here. Jim made his way out of the door and walked a few paces away to lean on the brick wall. He raised one foot to the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets looking up at the sky. There were very few people out, and the evening seemed calm and quiet. 

Jim heard the door open again, but didn’t bother looking over. He knew who it was. 

“How did you find me? Actually, how did you know I was even gone?” Jim was still gazing at the stars as he spoke. 

“I tried contacting you, but you were unavailable. When I recalled that Curry had contacted you, I made inquires into your whereabouts. Admiral Pike was the one that disclosed your location.” Spock said in even tones. He was standing next to Jim their shoulders lightly brushing. 

“Interesting. I take it that Pike knows what’s going on?”

“Yes. He has also disclosed this to me.” Jim couldn't make out any emotion in Spock’s voice, but he could tell that the Vulcan was upset that Jim hadn’t told him himself. 

“I’m sorry Spock.” Jim was sorry for many things, but he never wanted Spock to be involved in this aspect of his life. “Is Pike looking into this?” Jim was referring to the missions and Admiral Curry.

“Yes. Admiral Curry is currently under investigation. As soon as you return, you will be required to give a full report.” Spock replied. 

Jim sighed. He hated debriefings. He turned to look at Spock. Jim thought he really was beautiful. He, too, was gazing at the stars, but when he felt Jim’s eyes on him he turned to look at Jim. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Jim’s gaze drifted down to his mouth. Jim just wanted to reach across the distance between them and pull Spock’s lips to his. He wondered how he would taste, how he would feel. Jim realized that he was staring at his lips, and jerked his eyes up. Spock was still was looking back at him with his eyebrow raised. 

“Jim are you well?”

“Yeah, sorry Spock. I just drifted off there for a moment. I’m glad I got to see you, but I really have to get going. I have things to take care of.” Jim waved his hand in the direction he was going to go. 

“Jim. This mission, is it dangerous? Dr. McCoy was very worried about you, and with the data I have gathered, it appears Admiral Curry is not the best handler for these missions.”

“You talked to Bones? Are you crazy? Why would you do that? It’s like you’re trying to ruin my life. I will never hear the end of it from him.” Jim groaned and rubbed his forehead with his hand. “Curry is a piece of shit, but Spock, this mission will be easy as pie. I’ve been on worse. It will turn out just fine.” Jim clapped Spock on the shoulder.

Spock just stared at him. “Allow me to accompany you on your mission. We work well together. You yourself have agreed.”

“Sorry Spock. I can’t. This is a one man mission. I have to go meet a woman alone and make an exchange.” Jim stepped back away from Spock, but Spock took a step towards him. 

“Jim.”

“Spock, please.” Jim could feel the tension between them, and it seemed like Spock could too. “What about Uhura?” They were standing so close together, and it was taking everything in Jim to stay still and not lean in.

“Lieutenant Uhura terminated our relationship for the time being as you are well aware. However, I do not see us reuniting. With the events of the past year, we have grown apart. Recently, it has come to my attention that we are not well suited.” Spock gently pulled Jim’s hand into his own and drew him in for a Vulcan kiss. 

Jim gasped at the sensation, and for a brief moment, his mind was clear and free of pain for the first time in almost fourteen years. It was utter bliss, but it terrified Jim right down to his core. He had thought he was ready for this, but now he realized just how unprepared he was. Jim had a quick flash back to the last time he had kissed the Vulcan way, and he yanked his hand away hoping Spock hadn’t sensed anything. 

“I’m sorry. I thought I could do this, but I just can’t. At least not right now. God, Spock. We have really shitty timing.” Jim didn’t want him to be discouraged, but he really couldn't do this now. He was supposed to go seduce some chick for information in a few minutes, and he was still reeling over his own shitty past with Vulcans. Jim just couldn't deal with all of this right now. He reached up and squeezed Spock’s shoulder. “I promise we will talk about this after I’m done. Okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer just took off down the street, into the slowly darkening light, leaving Spock standing there confused and slightly hurt.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay.
> 
> ***********

Jim made his way into the restaurant but headed to the high class bar over in the corner not bothering to look at his surroundings. After his talk with Spock, he really didn’t want to do this. He was confused and pissed at himself. Thinking about it made him more uneasy. He needed to get Spock out of his system, but maybe, they could be good together. Maybe, he didn’t need to run anymore. He could be happy with Spock, but then he remembered the kiss. For one brief, shining moment everything was good. He could do that again. The problem was every good moment ended, and Jim knew he couldn't go through that again. He couldn't be with Spock one day, and the next day be torn away from him. He wouldn't survive it. 

Jim didn’t want to think about it any more. He had a mission to complete, and he just didn’t want to think about his life right now.

“I’ll have a Jack and coke. Make it a double.” He told the bartender when he came over. Jim was looking around for his target, but didn’t see her anywhere. The bartender put the drink in front of him, and when Jim tried to pay for it, the bartender waved him away.

“The blonde lady over in the corner payed for it.” He said pointing to a spot behind Jim. 

Jim causally turned around and slowly smirked. Walking over to her secluded table, he asked, “May I join you?” 

She smiled up at him blonde hair gleaming in the soft light. “Of course, have a seat. I’m Lenore.”

“I’m Jim. Thanks for buying my drink.”

“Thanks for coming to talk to me.”

Jim smiled at her. “Are you eating here alone?”

Lenore smiled coyly at him and replied, “No. I was just finishing up. I don’t have any plans for the rest of the evening. I was actually going to call it a night before I saw you.”

“Well, I’m flattered. Thanks.” This was way too easy, Jim thought to himself. It was never this easy. 

“You’re welcome. I just need to get away for a while, you know? Some of my family are here for a family reunion, and I don’t know about yours, but my family can get kind of crazy. I just needed to get away before someone got hurt.”

Jim breathed a sigh of relief. That seemed like a legitimate reason for her being alone at a restaurant. His internal panic slowly reduced as they kept talking. 

Lenore was very charming, and Jim couldn't understand why such a lovely woman stole valuable information. He needed to get into her room, so he could steal back the information, and he needed to keep in mind that she was a thief. He wondered if she was being blackmailed into doing this. If she was maybe Jim could find a way to get her out of it. 

With flirtatious banter going back and forth, it wasn’t long before Lenore invited him back to her room. Jim was happy this was going so smoothly, but he didn’t let his guard down. 

Getting off the elevator, they made their way to her room where she keyed in. Jim stopped just inside the doorway. Her rooms were massive and very luxurious. There was an entryway that lead into the sitting room with two doors leading off. Jim assumed that one of the doors lead to the bathroom and the other to the bedroom. Across from him stood sliding glass doors, leading out to the balcony. He knew he couldn't afford this, and he highly doubted that she could either. His misgivings were starting to come back until she spoke.

“My uncle paid for all of these rooms. He is loaded. It is a very nice gesture, but I find this all really extravagant. It makes me uncomfortable. There are so many other good causes he could donate his money to. I would have been fine, happier actually, in a smaller, less lavish room.” Lenore shook her head and glared at her surrounding after hanging up her coat. “What do you think?” She turned to look at Jim who just started to take off his shoes. 

“Well, it is really nice, but I could never afford anything like this. Your uncle seems very wealthy.” Jim felt better after her explanation. He watched her make her way across the room to the bar. 

“Want another drink?” She asked as she mixed a drink for herself. 

“Sure. I’ll have what you’re having.” He sat on the sofa in the middle of the room and accepted the drink she handed him when she came over. 

They talked for a little longer before she excused herself to use the restroom. When the door shut behind her, Jim threw himself into action. He knew he had only a few minutes to find the data disk with the stolen information.

He carefully opened the other door that lead to her bedroom. The quick search of her desk, bedside table and other obvious places lead to nothing. Where would she hide something of value? He walked back into the sitting room. Jim closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and then let it out. He slowly looked around the room, looking for anything that was out of place. His eyes slid past the television, computer control station, the sofas, tables, and replicator. He did a double take on the replicator. On the side, not very noticeable, were little scuff marks like someone had been trying to jimmy it open. Jim quickly strode over to it and tried to pry off the cover. It came off fairly easily and out dropped the data stick. Jim grinned, picked it up, and stuffed it into his pocket. He put the fake one back into the hiding place and quickly replaced the cover.

He didn’t need to stick around any longer. Jim could make an excuse about not feeling well and head back, but he didn’t want to. Seeing Spock had confused and scared him, not that he was going to admit it. He could barley even admit that to himself. Sex was the perfect distraction. It was also a great way to work off the extra energy he had. On the other hand, this was probably unethical, but then again, she wasn’t a saint either. He decided to stay. 

The carpet under his feet masked the sound of his footsteps as he hurried back over to the sofa. Lenore would be out any second now, and she was expecting to get fucked through the mattress. The thrill of almost being caught had indeed made him excited. He stripped off his shirt letting it drop carelessly to the floor.

When she walked out of the bathroom with just a shirt and panties on, Jim looked up from undoing his pants and swallowed. She looked like a sinful, little, minx, and Jim couldn't wait to fuck her. He strode over to her and pushed her against the wall. His lips crashed against hers. The exchange was violent, but she seemed to love it if her moans were any indication. She broke the kiss for air causing him to move to her neck sucking a bruise on her delicate skin. Every inch of him was on fire, and it was all because of her. His hand slipped under her shirt and found her breast. When he squeezed her nipple, she moaned in ecstasy. Her nails scratched at the skin of his back leaving red marks that would take hours to fade. 

“Bed,” she groaned pushing at his chest. Jim walked backward towards the room with the bed, taking her with him. Just as they made their way into the bedroom, he tripped on his pant leg causing him to go crashing into the bed. Lenore wasn’t prepared to go down and fell on Jim knocking the wind out of him. 

Laughing, she helped him wiggle out of his pants and remove the boxers he wore beneath. In return, he helped her out of her shirt and hooked his thumbs into her panties and drew them slowly down her body. 

They gazed at each other, just taking a moment to appreciate their natural beauty. His hard dick looked so delicious, dripping with pre-cum from the tip. She wondered how he tasted, but knew she didn’t have time to find out. 

Jim reached up and pulled her to him. They started to kiss, and Jim groaned when she bite his lip causing it to bleed. He had been with multiple people who liked it a bit rough, so taking his cue from her, he tugged at her hair. She froze and pulled away from him staring into his hooded eyes. 

“You don’t like that?”

“I.. Do it again.” She demanded. She had never felt this wet before. He seemed to like it rough, which was exactly what she wanted. Her folds were dripping, and she just wanted him inside her.

Jim pulled her back toward him and kissed her hard. He pulled on her hair causing her to moan. Jim used his blunt nails to scrap her back like she had done to him. He broke the kiss and flipped them around so she was on the bottom staring up at him. He started to kiss his way down her body stopping at her nipples to give them attention. He sucked one into his mouth and scrapped his teeth over the pebbled tip. She clawed into the skin at his back drawing blood. It felt so good. 

Drawing back, his mouth popped off her nipple. She reached for him and dragged him back up to her. They kissed again, and Jim’s hand made its way down her body. His fingers slipped inside the wet heat of her pussy. 

“You are so wet. God. You’re ready for me aren’t you?” She nodded, and he pulled his fingers free. Grabbing a condom from the bedside table that he had put there earlier, he tore open the package and rolled it on with nimble fingers. Her delicate fingers wrapped around him adding extra lube. She stroked up and down a few times. 

“If you keep doing that I’m going to cum.” He groaned. 

She huffed but guided the tip of him into her. He stopped and looked into her eyes. 

“Do it.” 

“Are you sure? It’s going to hurt.”

“You’re not the first person I’ve fucked.” She glared at him. “Just shove it in.”

With that, Jim thrust in. Her wet heat surrounded his cock gripping him tightly. He waited for a moment to let her adjust. 

“Hurry up and thrust.” She moaned. 

He smirked and started thrusting into her. She met him thrust for thrust. He was sucking marks into her neck and using his fingers on one hand to pinch and squeeze her nipples. His other hand was holding him up from crushing her into the mattress. She was scratching her nails down his back drawing blood. He wasn’t going to last much longer, but he wanted her to come first. Moving his hand from her nipples, he reached down and started to rub her clitoris. She felt like she was on fire. She had never been fucked as good as this. It was too bad that he had to die.

She came groaning his name. Jim thrust in twice more before cumming deep inside her. Resting his head against her shoulder, he took a moment to get his thoughts together. She pushed at him signaling him to get off of her. He rolled over, and she strode to the bathroom. 

He laid on his back and started at the ceiling. Jim couldn't help but feel guilty. He felt like he was betraying Spock, even though they weren’t together and never had been. He thought if he fucked her, he would get it out of his system, but that didn’t seem to work. Jim was still thinking about Spock and now felt even worse about the whole situation. 

The bathroom door opened, and Lenore came out dressed. Jim looked at her and decided that he should probably leave. That way he could avoid the whole morning after. He made to get out of the bed, but Lenore was faster. She hit him with her phaser that she had hidden in the bathroom and watched as Jim fell off the bed, convulsing on the floor. He never even saw it coming. 

Lenore just laughed. Everything was going according to plan. The next step was calling her father. He would help her get his body into the woods. She couldn't wait to play with him.

*******

The bar was dark and dingy. The smell of liquor and cheap perfume filled the air while men, women, and various other creatures milled around looking for a causal hookup. Marcus watched from the corner of the room. He didn’t mind the atmosphere of the bar. In fact, this was the perfect place. So many people came here, and no one would remember him or the fucking bastard he was going to destroy. He had waited for this moment for a long time. 

Eames was sitting at the bar nursing a glass of scotch. He had positioned himself across the room giving him a perfect view of the door. What he didn’t know was Marcus was already in the bar. When Anton had gotten word that Kirk and his team arrived, Marcus set out to the bar where the meet was supposedly taking place. 

Marcus watched Eames for about an hour before Lenore walked through the door. She walked right up to the bar and ordered a drink. Her Long Island Iced Tea was set before her signaling to Marcus that everything had gone according to plan. He let her drink about half of it while continuing to watch Eames, who was watching her. Marcus casually got up and made his way towards the door knowing that they both would be following soon enough. 

From the moment Lenore walked in, Eames had a bad feeling in his gut. He prayed to a god he didn’t really believe in that Jim had gotten the information from her. She had never had a criminal record before, and it should have been easy to get the stolen data and replace it with false information, but something wasn’t right. 

Eames watched her closely and tried to figure out what was wrong. He wished he could check in with Jim, but they had all gone radio silent. Jim was the one who went after her because he had a way with the ladies. Well actually, he had a way with everyone, but that was beside the point. Eames had gone to the bar early to make sure he didn’t miss the buyer. Thomas was trying to dig up more information on who these people were and why they had stolen Starfleet intel. 

When half an hour passed of Lenore just sitting at the bar, Eames wondered if the buyer wasn’t going to show up. Just as he was about to order another drink, Lenore got up and left the bar. She made her way through the crowd that seemed to have doubled since her arrival. He pushed his glass away from him, and threw enough credits to cover the drink on the table. He casually made his way across the bar towards the exist. Eames didn’t know where she was going, but he didn’t want to lose her. 

Making his way out of the building, he barely took two steps before he was out cold. He never saw Marcus coming. 

 

*******

He had been staring at this screen for about an hour now, and he was getting nowhere. Thomas decided he’d had enough for the moment and got up to stretch. His stomach growled in the quiet of the room. Taking a dinner break was a good idea. There was only so long he could spend staring at screen before he got a headache. Thomas made his way to the door and headed out to find a decent burger place. 

As he was making his way back from getting something to eat, Thomas noticed a man that looked very family out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't place the man’s face, but just seeing him made him feel uncomfortable. He had a vague sense of unease, but he continued on his way making sure he wasn’t being followed. 

Entering the room swiftly, he locked it behind him and tried to get back to work. The light from the setting sun was spilling across the floor, and Thomas’s unease increased as the evening wore on. 

The more he looked into Lenore Karidian, the more nothing was making sense. She and her father were part of a group of traveling actors. They seemed to be to well sought after, but the problem was there was no history of Lenore or her father before thirteen years ago. It was like they didn’t exist before they became traveling actors. 

As Thomas kept digging he, he got more and more worried. He looked at the picture of Lenore’s father. He was an older man named Anton Karidian. He had graying hair with a mustache and a very stern expression. 

“Shit.” Thomas breathed the word out into the silence of the room. There was no way he was right. He had to be imagining it. He pushed his chair back from the desk and stood up to pace. 

Thomas’s mind was whirling so fast, and he didn’t know what to do. That man was supposed to be dead. If Thomas was wrong about who this man really was and ruined the whole mission, he would be in so much trouble, but if he was right, Jim and Eames were in deep shit. 

Not knowing what else to do, Thomas took a deep breathe and looked at the picture again. He had to make sure he was right. It really was him. Now what to do? Since they had decided on radio silence, Thomas knew he would have to go and find Eames and Jim. Jim was with Lenore, so he would probably be okay for the time being. Unfortunately, Eames was at the bar alone, and Thomas needed to warn him. Then together, they could figure out how to warn Jim. He grabbed his PADD with the picture of Anton Karidian and rushed out the door. 

He had just turned the corner in the hallway, when he slammed against a hard body. Stumbling, he reached for the wall to stable himself before he met the floor face first. He looked up to see who he had ran into with an apology on his tongue. Thomas’s eyes widened when he recognized who was in front of him.

“Commander Spock. What are you doing here?” Since the Nero incident, everyone knew who Commander Spock was. He and Jim were very famous amongst the human and Vulcan populations. 

“I apologize. I do not think we have met.” Spock raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. 

“Right. Sorry. No, we haven’t. I am Lieutenant Thomas Leighton.”

“I see. I assume you are here on the mission with Captain Kirk?” 

Thomas was surprised. He didn’t think Spock knew about these missions, but then again, Jim probably had told him. Jim always talked about Spock. He had never talked about anyone this much since T’lana. The guy was crazy for Spock, and knowing this, Thomas made the decision to include Spock on what was going on. 

“Yes, and I need your help. Jim is in trouble. He went to meet with a woman named Lenore Karidian. This whole operation is a set up. Have you heard of Kodos the executioner? That is her father, and I just saw the man following me about an hour ago. I need to get to the bar to warn Eames. Can you go and make sure Jim is all right? He should be over at the hotel down the road. You need to make sure he is okay and warn him about Kodos.” Thomas said in a rush. 

Spock just stared at him. This human was irrational and not making much sense. If Jim was surely in trouble, he would have said something earlier. “Governor Kodos died on Tarsus IV. His body was badly burned, and even if he were still alive there would be no reason for him to go after you or the Captain. Lieutenant are you sure you are feeling well?” 

“Commander! We are wasting time! I am fine, but Jim isn’t. Kodos does have a reason to kill all of us. Eames, me, and Jim both saw and lived through the events of Tarsus IV. Jim was the one that helped save us all. He isn’t listed on the reports because his mother is a fucking bitch, but he was there. I have to go get Eames. We will meet you back here.” Thomas said urgently. He didn’t wait for Spock to give a response just pushed past him and headed toward the bar where Eames was waiting. He hoped he wasn’t too late. 

Thomas exited the hotel and made his way down the darkened street. With the stars out in the clear sky, Thomas was aware of his surroundings. It wasn’t long before he heard the footsteps following him. He tried to make it to the end of the street where it was better lit, but he never got the chance. A stun beam hit him in the back, and the last thought that went through his head was that he wouldn't get to meet his daughter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic descriptions of violence!

Anton Kodos stared down at the scum near his feet. This piece of shit was supposed to have died years ago. Now here he was trying to ruin his life. Anton was going to make him pay for this. 

He reached down and grabbed Leighton’s shoulders dragging him to the side of the empty street. He didn’t want to be caught dragging the body down the road, so he had to think of a way get him somewhere else. The fucker wasn’t supposed to have left his room. He was causing Anton all sorts of problems, but if Anton could get him into the woods, then he could dispose of the body more easily.

Anton looked at the distance between where he stood and how far the woods were. It wasn’t that far. If he could just make it there without anyone seeing, then it would work out. He walked out to the end of the street and glanced around. There were a few people milling about, but it was too much of a risk. His other option was to kill him now and dispose of his body later. Time was running out, and he had to make his decision fast. Making his way back to Leighton’s body, Anton crouched down next to him. The stun would wear off in a few minutes, so he set to work. 

He picked up the fingers of one hand and started to bend them backwards. The sound of snapping bones echoed loudly in the quiet street. He broke as many bones as he could on both hands. Standing up to get more leverage, he raised his boot and brought it down forcefully onto the upper thigh of Leighton’s leg. The resulting crack was louder than before and seemed to echo down the street. Anton paused to make sure no one came to investigate. 

The body beneath him was slowly convulsing, and Leighton’s eyes were staring up at him when he looked back down. 

“Please stop.” The broken words were almost lost in the night. 

Anton just laughed in response. He reached down and stroked his hand across his cheek. “You and your worthless friends should have died long ago.” He took his hand away and returned it with great force leaving a clear imprint on Leighton’s face. 

Leighton gasped and let out a whimper. “You won’t get away with this.” The words slurred together from pain that ravaged his body. 

Anton grinned down at him. “I already have.” He pulled a knife out of his boot and slit Leighton’s throat. He watched as the blood gushed out of his neck, and the life slowly bleed out of his eyes. Anton smiled, wiped the knife clean on Leighton’s shirt and put it back in his boot. He kicked the body behind a dumpster, covered it with trash, and made his way down the street like nothing had just happened whistling the whole way. 

He had to get back to Lenore and help her move Kirk to the clearing in the woods they had picked out earlier. They needed to get some information from him before they killed him. Anton smiled at the thought. He was having a wonderful night, and it was only just getting started. 

Another innocent soul had lost a life that night with no one around to witness it. The world just wasn’t fair, and sometimes even the good guys didn’t win.

********

 

Getting out of the Starfleet base without losing his job was fairly easy compared to finding Jim on in a city with thousands of people. Luckily, Riley seemed to know what kind of place Jim and his team were staying in. They had already checked out three different hotels, and no one had seen Jim, Eames, or Thomas. Bones was getting tired of all this running around. He was going to have words with Jim when he found him. 

Walking out of the hotel with no luck, Bones and Riley continued on their way. It wasn’t until a few meters later Bones realized his daughter was no longer following him. He turned around quickly searching for her in the crowd and let out a breath when he saw she was still on the sidewalk. She was watching someone intently on the other side of the street. 

Bones walked back to her and followed her gaze across the street. He saw Spock walking fast in the same direction they were going. 

“Hey Riley, I found Commander Spock. Let’s go see if he knows anything.” Bones called back to Riley who had stopped and waited for them. 

Riley walked back over, and they made their way across the street. 

“Spock!” Bones called. He jogged to catch up to the commander. 

When Spock heard his name, he slowed and looked around. Catching sight of the doctor made him pause. 

“I was just informed that the Captain may be in life threatening danger. We must be quick.” Spock explained and waited a moment for Jo and Riley to catch up. He raised an eyebrow at Jo but didn’t say anything in favor of turning around to keep walking and continuing the conversation. “Has the Captain mentioned anything about Tarsus IV to you, Doctor?”

Bones was startled at this change of topic but just continued to walk and answered, “No. I know what happened though. It was tragic. Why?” Bones didn’t notice the way that Riley seemed to have tensed up, but Jo did. ‘This is going to be interesting,’ she thought to herself.

“It seems that the Captain was one of the survivors. Thomas Leighton just informed me that Governor Anton Kodos, who was presumed dead, is, in fact, alive. Leighton stated that this whole mission was a trap. The young woman that the Captain was supposed to meet is Governor Kodos’ daughter.” Spock informed them as they continued to walk. 

“You’re joking! Jim would have told me he was one of the survivors, not to mention that would have been in his medical file. Things like that cannot be simply ignored.” Bones was pissed. It made sense that Jim had been there, but why hadn’t he told him? 

Riley spoke up for the first time. He didn’t make eye contact with anyone as he said, “Jim didn’t have the best home life. His mother didn’t want anyone to know that he had been there because it would bring up questions about why he was there. It was mostly to cover up the fact that she didn’t want anything to do with her own son. She just shipped him off to his aunt and uncle’s on Tarsus. Then when it went to hell, she paid people off to leave his name off the reports.

Spock stopped walking, and both he and Bones stared at Riley. Jo was just confused. She didn’t know what Tarsus was, but this seemed important. She pulled her PADD out and started to look up information on it to figure out what she was missing from the conversation. 

It was Bones who spoke first. “Are you saying that you were there?”

Riley signed, “Yeah. I was six at the time. Jim was there, and he helped raise me. Now, we should get going, yeah?” Riley didn’t want to think about it. That bastard was supposed to be dead. If he was really still out there, he needed to taken care of. They all started walking again, and Jo found it hard to walk and read, so she turned off her PADD. She had gotten the basics anyway. 

They were getting close to the hotel that Leighton had indicated. Nerves were high, and Bones hoped they made it in time. This whole thing was a whirlwind of a mess. How did Jim always seem to get himself into trouble?

Entering into the lobby of the hotel, they made their way up to the counter. While the men tired to find out what room Jim was staying in, Jo watched as a slender blonde woman made her way through the doorway and out into the night. 

“Jo, come on. Let’s go.” Her father yelled at her from the lifts. She hurriedly made her way over, and they all ascended to the correct floor. 

Bones looked at Jo and told her to stay behind all of them.

Spock took out a phaser and put the keycard in the slot. It whirred open, and they entered the room. Jo stayed out in the hallway for a few minutes before she got bored and cautiously opened the door. The rooms were huge and very luxurious.

“I found something here.” Bones called from the other side of the sitting room. Spock made his way out of the bathroom to the doctor, and Riley joined them from the bedroom. Jo didn’t want to be left out, so she made her way over, too. 

There in the middle of the floor was the Captain’s shirt and boots. Jim, however, was nowhere to be seen. 

“So what are we going to do now? We have no idea where he is, or if he is even still alive.This is insane!” Bones was pissed and worried. He had told Jim not to go on any more of these missions, and what happened? He went on one. 

“Jim is alive. If this really is Kodos, then he needs Jim alive. He needs to find out what Jim knows about him. He is going to need a place where he can interrogate Jim, Eames, and Thomas. Somewhere secluded where no one will interrupt if they hear a scream. They wouldn't be able to do it in any hotel because the walls are so thin. So, where does that leave us?” Riley asked. 

Bones and Spock just looked at each other. “You really think this Kodos guy is still alive?” Bones asked after a moment of silence. 

Riley shrugged. “I believe Thomas. He wouldn't just make this shit up. If he says it’s real, it’s real.”

“All right. So where would they have taken Jim and the others?”

Riley looked around, but he had no idea. “I don’t know.”

‘Where they really so clueless? How could a group of trained officers not see what was right in front of their noses?’ Jo thought to herself. If time wasn’t of the essence, Jo would have loved to watch them struggle to figure it out. Instead she voiced her idea. “Into the woods.”

They turned around to stare at her. She just shrugged and answered, “It’s secluded. No one would hear a scream. Haven’t you noticed that not even the locals will go anywhere near the forest? They are scared of something in those woods.” 

Riley walked over to the window and looked down at the dark forest. Even if they were out there, how would they find them? The woods were a big place to cover, and there had to be something in there that not even the locals wanted to mess with.

“How would we find them in the dark? We can’t just go stumbling, blindly through the trees.” 

“Well, they can’t have gone that far. If they had taken Jim from this room, then they wouldn't want to be caught. There has to be a reason for using this room,” Bones stated.

“We can go down and see if there’s a trail or a sign of disturbance at the edge of the tree line.”

When no other ideas came forth, they all decided to head down there. 

In the lobby, Bones stopped and looked at all of them. “Jo you need to stay here. I’m going to get a room, and you are to wait in it until I get back. Is that understood?”

Jo stared at her father like he had grown another head. “There is no way in hell I’m staying here alone. Haven’t you watched any horror movies? If you separate, you all end up dead, not to mention the fact that I want to help save Uncle Jimmy. You can’t keep me in the room after you leave either. So, unless you want to stay here...” She trailed off. 

Bones knew he really shouldn't let her come, but she had a point. He couldn't stay with her, and he couldn't make her stay in the room. If he kept her with him, he could at least keep an eye on her. He sighed, “Fine, you can come with, but you better listen to me. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to leave me behind, you do it? Understand?”

For the first time since she had found her dad, she realized just how dangerous this was. Crazy people were trying to kill her uncle, and her dad was going to try to stop them. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost her father, but the realization that she could loose him shook her to her core. She answered yes anyway, and they all made their way out into the night. 

 

*********

 

Lenore was thrilled. After she had hit Jim with the psi weapon, she called her father, and he had helped her move his body. It was a little tricky getting him out of the building without being caught, but part of the reason she had been in that hotel was because of its reputation for discretion. They had taken him into the woods far enough away to not be discovered. 

When she asked what had happened to the Leighton guy, her father would only tell her that he was dead. She wanted details! She had tried to ask for them, but he just told her that she shouldn't think about such things. All Lenore wanted was to know how he had died. She hoped he suffered. 

After getting Kirk to the clearing, she had had to go back to the hotel to grab all of her belongings. She moved all her stuff from the room and into her father’s. They were going to go back later and scrub the place, but they had time. There was no hurry to get that done, and she needed to get to the bar with Marcus.

Her father was waiting for her in the clearing watching over Jim Kirk. She and Marcus would have to hurry. They didn’t want to get caught. Picking up Eames, she and Marcus each put an arm around him and started to drag him towards the dimly lit road that was as close to the woods as possible. 

When they got far enough away and into the dark cover of night, they headed deeper into the woods. Lenore was panting and sweating. This fat oaf was going to be punished for ruining her new shoes. It was a slow walk made even harder by how dark it was. 

When they finally got to the clearing, Lenore dumped his body on the ground. She just laughed and made her way over to her father giving him a kiss as a greeting. She turned to see Jim staring at her like she was a ghost. 

With the full moon bright in the night sky, Lenore was able to see that he had been beaten and tied down. He was bleeding from a wound on his head and bruises covered his mostly naked body. The night air was a bit chilly, and without a jacket on, it had to be colder for him. 

She grinned down at him. “Miss me, Jimmy? Did you really think I was that easy? You are such an ignorant, self-centered ass.” Her blonde hair seemed to glow in the moonlight. 

Jim thrashed about trying to get out of the ropes that bound him. He needed to make sure that Eames was alive. What the fuck had they done to him? How did this even happen, and who the hell was she?

It was like she was reading his mind. “Don’t you know who I am? Maybe you know my father. Don’t worry. I will reintroduce you.” She was smiling madly. “Daddy? Can I introduce you to our guest?”

Kodos smiled down at his daughter. He loved the mind games she was playing. “Of course, Dear. How silly of me to forget my manners.”

Lenore laughed. “Jimmy, this is my father. You know, the one I was telling you about? His name is Anton Karidian. You might remember him better as Governor Kodos.” She paused watching his face as emotions flickered across it. Disbelief, followed quickly by fear, and worry before being covered up by anger were shown. She smiled. She loved how he tried to hide his fear. He wasn’t very successful. Lenore leaned down to whisper in his ear so her father couldn't hear. “See that man over there?” She pointed to the man standing above Eames motionless body. “That is my uncle. You know the rich one? Not biological of course, but he was always there for me. You might remember him, too. His name is Marcus. Do you remember how you used to let him fuck you? I do. I remember watching how you and that bitch with the pointy ears would always bend over for him. I was always pissed that you and her got his attention. I wanted him to look at me like that. It was the same with my father. You never should have touched them. They are MINE!” She jerked her hand back and brought it across his face causing Jim to recoil. 

Jim tried to move away from her, but he didn’t get very far. She just laughed and followed after him. “You can’t go anywhere, Jimmy. The party has only just started.” 

“You are fucking INSANE!!!!! Stay the hell away from me you, bitch.” Jim shouted. He didn’t know how he was supposed to get out of this. He should have just gone home with Spock. He tried working on getting his wrists free, but all he was doing was making the restraints tighter. He was losing circulation in his hands and feet. 

A groan from a few feet away drew both of their attention. Kodos and Marcus were both standing over Eames who was slowly waking up. 

“Well, it’s nice of you to finally join us.” Marcus said in a deep voice from behind Eames. 

Eames tried to jerk upright from the grass covered ground. He knew that voice. He hadn't heard it in thirteen years, but he could still recognize it anywhere. He thrashed about trying to get out of the ties around his wrists and ankles. 

“Eames! You all right?” He turned to the voice, and his relief was short lived. Jim was in the same predicament as he was. When Eames noticed Kodos, he tried to cover his shock. “You fucking bastard. How the fuck are you still alive?” Eames didn’t understand what was going on. 

Kodos just laughed. “Did you really think I would die in that hellhole? I had to have an exit strategy after most of the experiment was done. I wish I could have stayed to see the results after Starfleet got there, but I couldn't.”

“What do you mean experiment?” Jim asked. He hoped he was wrong with what he was going to say next. 

“You mean you never figured it out?” Kodos was grinning madly. He loved that he had won. It was all a game to him. “The fungus was a product of my own design. I wanted to do a social experiment on how people would react in certain extreme circumstances. How far will a person go to ensure his or her own survival? The results were mostly expected, but you, you fascinated me. Never once did you give up. You got food for others and helped others survive when most people just did things that benefited themselves. I wanted to see how far you were willing to go. I had ordered that girl of yours to die. I wanted to see how her death would affect you and your little rebellion. Unfortunately, the idiots at Starfleet arrived sooner than expected and cut my research short. It was such a loss. The results would have been very interesting.”

Lenore watched as her father spoke. He had never told her any of this, but then again, she really didn’t care. He would never have let anything happen to her, and she had always gotten the best food. 

Jim was dumbfounded. How was this possible? He was the one that created the famine? Thousands of people had died for no reason other than to settle a crazy person’s curiosity. Jim felt sick. What was wrong with this world? All this time, she had died for nothing. A shout and several thumps brought him back to reality. 

“Stop. Please just stop.” Kodos was kicking Eames in the stomach. The guy had to be in so much pain. Jim needed to get them out of here. There had to be a way. 

Kodos stopped and looked over at Jim. “You want me to stop kicking your friend?” He smiled waiting for a reply.

Jim looked him in the eyes. “Yeah. Just tell me what you want and let him go.”

Kodos smiled. “I want you to tell me where the rest of the nine are. It has been awhile since we have had a chat. It would be so wonderful to catch up with them.”

Laughing Jim answered, “Do you really think I would tell you that? You are seriously mental.” Jim would never give up his friends. 

“All right then. Are you sure you don’t want to do this the easy way?” Jim shook his head. Kodos bent down and pulled out the knife from his boot. He slowly walked over to Eames and put the knife to his cheek. One hand gripped the hair on Eames’ head. He slowly caressed the flat of the blade against his cheek. “Are you sure you don’t want to change your mind?” He asked.

“Don’t tell him a thing, Jim.” Eames said loudly. This caused Kodos to dig the knife into his cheek. Blood was slowly dripping down, but Eames didn’t make a sound. 

“Marcus you want to have a go at him?” Kodos asked. “You are so much more creative than me.” He looked down at Eames. You remember Marcus right? He was the one you stabbed through the eye. I was very upset when I saw what you did his beautiful face. My poor Marcus. He has had to live with that for years thanks to you, but don’t worry. You will pay for what you did.”

Marcus walked over to the little black bag that had gone unnoticed by everyone. He reached in and pulled out a small wand like object from his bag. One end was a handle and the other end had a big ball with holes on the side. Marcus pulled out a small bottle and walked over to Eames. 

He stopped in front of them. “Do you know what this is?” He continued on when they didn’t respond. “This is what is known as a lead sprinkler. Since I don’t have any lead, I will be using acid. I hear it is quite painful.” He added the acid to the top of the sprinkler and smiled down at his unmoving victim. 

“Can you take his shirt off?” Marcus asked Kodos who reached out and yanked it off.

At first Eames couldn't feel anything, but as the seconds passed the burning started. It was like being burned alive. He tried not to make any noises but after a few minutes he was screaming. The torture seemed to last forever, but was really only a few minutes. 

Marcus waited for Eames to get his bearings. “Are you sure either of you don’t want to tell me?” He was looking at both of them. 

Jim didn’t say a word. He felt like shit. His head was pounding, and he was watching one of his best friends get tortured. There had to be a way to stop him. 

“You aren’t going to get away with this you know. People are going to know we are missing if we don’t report back soon.” If they did miss the meeting, Thomas would know something was up. 

“Are you talking about Thomas Leighton? Yeah, he was an interesting fellow. He seemed to think that you would be able to stop me. It was sad that I didn’t get to take as much time as I wanted getting to know him. He could barley talk at the end there, but he never screamed. He held up better than you are.” Kodos said the last part to Eames, who was breathing deeply trying not to scream. 

Jim couldn't comprehend that. “You’re lying. It’s not true.”

Kodos just laughed. He was loving this misery. “He knew who I was. He was trying to come and warn you about me, but I got to him first. I left him in some alley and covered him with trash. When I am done with you and him, I will go back and throw his body in the woods. Did you notice how all the locals avoid this place? It makes a great place to hide a body.”

Jim just sat there in shock. He couldn't handle what was going on right now. His best friend was being tortured, and his other friend was dead. This couldn't be happening anymore. 

Marcus, who had kept out of the conversation until now, had a new torture device in his hand. “As much fun as this reprieve has been, let’s get back to the topic at hand. This is a thumb screw, and I’m sure you will love it.” He put Eames’ thumb in it and slowly started to crush the bone. 

The screaming began anew, and the sound was making Jim sick. He couldn't stand to see this being done to Eames. 

“Please just stop!” Jim was pleading. He turned to Lenore hoping to get her to help him. She was staring at the proceedings with a look of bliss in her eyes. 

Time had a new meaning. Jim thought it was never going to end. The screams and the constant clicking were getting louder. Jim watched as Marcus slowly tortured Eames, not even noticing the knife that was slipping into his skin. It wasn’t until Jim felt the knife cut his hand that he realized that Kodos had started to draw small cuts across any skin that was exposed on his body. 

Jim felt like his head was going to explode. He didn’t even know who was screaming anymore. Lenore laughing crazily, Kodos murmuring encouragements to her, and Marcus raving about how long he had waited for this moment, all slipped past Jim’s uncomprehending mind. The constant clicking was getting louder and louder. The ground was soaked in blood, and the wind carried the metallic smell of blood and noises of despair. 

What happened next, Jim would never remember clearly. The only clear moment was when the light slipped out of Eames’s eyes. Watching one of the people that had been a constant throughout his whole life die, killed another small piece of Jim. In that moment, Jim decided he didn’t want to wake up either and let the darkness carry him away not even caring about the giant black creatures that seemed to come out of nowhere.


	11. Chapter 11

Entering into this dark and deserted forest was sending shivers up Jo’s spine. Something wasn’t right about this place, and it was making her wary. She was uncomfortable with the absolute silence. Usually in a forest, birds would sing and insects would buzz about, but not this one. It made her wonder what was so bad about it.

Walking carefully behind her father, she tried not to trip. Spock was leading the way with Riley helping. She didn’t know how they knew where to go and just figured they were wondering aimlessly. 

It wasn’t until Riley spoke that Jo realized how tense she was. She really needed to get ahold of herself, jumping at the sound of his voice. 

“Does anyone else feel like we’re being watched? It’s too quiet.” Riley asked. He didn’t like how quiet it was either. 

“We are being watched, but by what I cannot tell. There are huge creatures that have been following us for the last ten minutes by my estimation. I can hear them, but I have yet to see them.”

“Good God, man! Why didn’t you mention this earlier? This could have been vital to our survival. When a creepy fucking creature starts stalking us, you have to tell us!!” Bones was pissed. ‘Seriously, why the fuck wouldn't you warn someone?’ He thought to himself his eyes searching the forest around them. That stupid hobgoblin. He turned to look at Jo. “You are getting in front of me. I don’t want that thing sneaking up behind you.” They switched places as Spock answered Bones. 

“As the probability of them attacking is relatively low, I thought it best to continue with our efforts to recuse the Captain. The creatures have had multiple opportunities to attack and have not done so. I would hypothesize that they do not know how to interact with us. As long as we do not appear to threaten them, we should be fine. However, the farther we go into their territory, the higher the risk of an altercation.”

“Wonderful. Just what we need on top of everything else. Did anyone else bring weapons of any sort?” Bones asked as he checked the phaser on his belt. 

A confirmation was heard from both of them, before Riley stumbled on a tree root. He regained his balance easily enough, but they all froze when a scream tore through the night. 

“Was that them?” Jo whispered. She was afraid of what they would find when they got there. 

No one answered her question, but it did cause them to spur into action. Moving faster than before, they tore through the forest, branches catching on their clothing and skin. Jo was having a hard time keeping up because she was smaller than them and couldn't run as fast. 

Up ahead was light that seemed to emanate from a clearing. Before breaking into the clearing, Bones paused and looked at Jo. 

“Do not go into the clearing with us. Stay here and get yourself out if anything happens. Do you understand?” His face looked grim and worried in the low lighting. Jo nodded her head to show she understood and watched as they all took in what was happening in the clearing. 

They were discussing amongst themselves what they should do when Jo interrupted them. 

“Ugh, guys.” She urgently yanked on her father’s arm. 

“Not now, Jo” He said. 

“Dad. You need to look.” It was the fear he heard in her voice that caused him to look in the same direction as her. What he saw chilled him to the bone. 

In the clearing, a group of people were all grouped together. None of them seemed to notice the giant, black, hairy spider like creature creeping up behind them. Bones hated spiders and now here they were. Giant fucking spiders. He thought he was going to faint. Riley and Spock were silent, too, as they stared in shock. 

“Have any of you seen anything like this before?” Riley asked. 

“Negative.” Spock replied. Bones just shook his head. 

“Does anyone know how to kill them if they try to eat us?” 

Again no one knew. 

“So, I guess we just wing it. Jim would be proud.” Bones replied. He looked to Spock and Riley. They nodded to each other, and Bones turned to Jo pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Remember what I said. Love you.” He whispered, and then they were dashing into the clearing. 

As Jo watched, more giant spiders came out of the woods. Phaser fire was streaking through the air, and the giant spiders with their beady eyes seemed to be everywhere. It was a confusing mess, but she saw one of the spiders sink its fangs into one of the men in the clearing. The man had something wrong with one of his eyes, so he hadn’t even seen the beast coming. She was just relieved that it wasn’t someone she knew. The guy hadn’t stood a chance. He was screaming and bleeding everywhere, but the spider just kept eating him. As much as she wanted to look away from the grizzly scene, Jo couldn't seem to tear her eyes away. 

The only woman in the clearing was firing her weapon in random directions. She didn’t seem to know what to focus on. When she stepped on Jim, and he didn’t move Jo knew something was wrong. Jo didn’t know what to do. She wanted to go out there and make sure he was still alive. Before she could even make a move, the woman shot the other man in the clearing. When she realized what she had done, she dropped the phaser and ran to the man. Jo heard her agonized cries and watched as she cradled the man against her chest. She seemed truly distraught at what had happened and didn’t seem to notice anything else going on around her. 

More and more spiders were entering the clearing, their clicking noises increasing in volume. Jo was about to head into the clearing when she felt something right behind her. She knew what it was without having to turn and look. Jo took a deep breathe in and prepared to run. 

 

********

 

Lenore was having the time of her life before everything went to hell. Her father was going to let her use the new psi weapon on Jim after he was done playing with him. She didn’t mind watching her father work. She loved the blood, and screams, but her favorite part was watching the life fade from the eyes. 

Maybe she should have been paying more attention to their surroundings, but she thought it would be safe. No one was supposed to be out here. When she caught site of the huge, hairy monsters, she screamed. 

Her father looked up and quickly grabbed a phaser. Chaos erupted, and Lenore didn’t know what to do. Marcus was trying to ward off the beasts, but for ever one they hit, two more seemed to fill their place. She stood there in shock watching the creatures creep closer. It wasn’t until her father shouted at her that she snatched a gun up and started firing. 

“Don’t just stand there, you fucking idiot. Start shooting these things.” Kodos couldn't believe how she just stood there. It didn’t seem to help much when she started firing though. She couldn't seem to aim, and Kodos was getting more and more frustrated with her. They were going to die because of her incompetence. 

“What the hell are you doing?” He shouted to her. He was going to add more, but he saw one of the spiders take out Marcus. 

“Marcus!!” Kodos tried to make his way over to him, but there was too much going on. Marcus meant the world to him. They had been best friends for years and had grown so much closer over the last decade. Kodos was going to destroy these fucked up things. With his anger increased, he started to take out more and more.

Just as he was taking care of a spider that had tried to creep up from behind, he noticed that they were not alone anymore. It seemed that other people had joined the fray. He turned to warn Lenore, his mouth open and eyes locked with hers, when he went down without a cry. There was no time to process. One minute he was alive. The next, dead. Lenore’s scream of anguish could be heard over all the chaos. 

She raced over to her father dropping her weapon down by his body. She hadn't meant to shoot him. She had seen a couple of new people enter the clearing, and she was just trying to defend herself. They were shooting at her, so she shot back. Her father wasn’t supposed to be over this way anyway. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be by Kirk’s motionless body. 

Lenore was clutching at her father tears just steaming down her face. 

“No. Daddy, I need you! Come back!” Her heartbroken sobs could barley be heard over the increasing volume of clicking noises. 

They would pay for this. Those men that had come would pay for her father’s death. The spiders would never have come if it weren’t for those men. She lifted her head and looked for the men who had ruined everything. 

She saw them clearly from her position on the ground. One of the men was younger than the others with light, brown hair. He seemed the easiest to get at, so she picked up her gun and made her way towards him. She almost tripped over Marcus’s bag that had just been left laying there. She went to kick it out of her way, but stopped when she saw the handle of the psi gun. Lenore reached down and grabbed it. She didn’t know what it would do, but she figured she could use another weapon. 

It was relatively easy to maneuver over to where the young man was fighting his share of the spiders. He had his back to Lenore, and she used that to her advantage. Holding the gun steady in her hands, she aimed it at his back and pulled the trigger. A stream of bright, green light erupted out of the end lighting up the clearing. 

The man doubled over in pain, grabbing his head. It wasn’t long before he collapsed on the ground moaning and twitching uncontrollably. Lenore thought that was kind of a waste. She had been hoping for something a little more entertaining. A spider was making its way closer to his body, but she wasn’t done with him yet. She raised the gun and fired her second shot at the spider hitting it under its soft underbelly. She had been trying to aim for the eyes, but she had never been a good shot. 

When the shot connected, several things happened in quick succession. The first was that the spider she shot dropped to the ground and froze, unseeing eyes staring at her. It still seemed to be alive physically, but it wasn’t there mentally. The second thing that happened was all of the other spider things seemed to screech clicking noises at the highest volume possible. Lenore had to cover her ears, dropping the guns to the floor. The noise seemed to increase in volume as time went on even though many were dying all around the clearing. 

She tried to look around her at what the other two men were doing, but they seemed just as affected as she was. The Vulcan more-so than her. He was grabbing at his head and seemed to be barley conscious. Her eyes locked with the last man present. She didn’t know who he was, but he seemed the most able, and he was trying to raise his phaser at her. 

Lenore couldn't stand the noise for much longer. She looked over at where her father lay and came to a decision. Uncovering her ears, she reached down and grabbed the psi weapon. Straightening up, she stumbled out of the clearing trying to get as far from this place as possible. She could get her revenge on the other two men later, if they even made it out alive. 

Bones tried to raise his gun and shoot that bitch. She had shot Riley. His arm couldn't quite get a grip on the gun, and his head felt like it was going to explode. The noise was so loud. He watched her getting away feeling useless. He should be able to do something to stop her. He looked over at Spock and saw that he wasn’t dealing with this any better. Spock was already laying on the ground, but Bones could see his chest moving so he knew he was alive. 

He raised his gun again and tried to shoot at a spider. His first shot went wide missing the spider completely. Bones fired a second shot, and this time it hit its target. The spider went down, but the noise seemed to increase from the other spiders that were still alive in the clearing. Bones started shooting at all the moving spiders just wanting the noise to stop before he passed out. He didn’t know if he even hit any of them before the darkness took him over. His last thought was he hoped Jo had gotten out of there.

 

********

 

Waking up in the clearing was disorienting. It took a few minutes for Bones to get his bearings. Looking around the clearing, he saw all the destruction. The ground was littered with bodies of dead spiders. Red blood mixed with the dark, blue blood from the spiders that were shot. 

Bones groaned as he got up. He needed to find Jo. She could be hurt. He jogged over to where he had left her at the edge of the clearing searching around for a few minutes not seeing her. 

“Joanna? Where are you? Jo?” She never answered any of his calls. If anything had happened to her, he would never forgive himself. Bones was on the edge of panicking when he walked back into the clearing. He knelt down next to Spock, his doctor instincts kicking in. He checked Spock’s vitals and determined that they were normal for him. 

“Hey, Spock.” He called to him trying to get him to wake up. Spock’s eyes opened slowly taking in everything around him. 

“Hey, you all right?” Bones asked. 

“I am not in immediate danger, Doctor. Do you know what happened?” He inquired. 

“That bitch shot some weapon that I have never seen before at a spider, and they all started to lose their shit. From what I could tell, the spiders are connected on some sort of brain wave. The only reason we aren’t dead is because the human brain cannot pick up that level of frequency. You might have been more exposed to it than us, so as soon as we get back you are getting a full exam. I’m going to go check on Jim.” 

Bones walked over to Jim. He looked like shit. He was bleeding from small cuts all over his body. He had bruises and a split lip still oozing blood. Bones checked his vitals, and applied pressure to some of the cuts that were slowly seeping blood. His vials were not good. Bones knew he needed to get Jim to sick bay soon, or he wouldn't make it. 

Bones turned to look over to Spock but saw that he had moved over to Riley. 

“How is he?” He called over to him. 

“He is alive, but he needs medical attention as soon as possible. The other two are dead.” Spock stated. 

Spock made his way over to Bones. “We need to leave this area. More of these creatures could come back, and they need medical attention.” Spock pointed to Jim and Riley. “I will carry Jim if you want to carry Riley. He is smaller in stature and lighter, therefore he should be easier for you to carry.”

Bones just nodded. He walked over to Riley to pick him up. They both made their way out of the clearing leaving the dead bodies behind. Bones spared a thought for leaving Jim’s friend behind, but they needed to get out of there. He reasoned they could come back later if they had time.

They headed back the way they had come in, and the panic Bones had felt before returned tenfold. 

“Spock. I don’t know where my daughter is. We need to find her.” He almost dropped Riley and started to search for his daughter. 

“Doctor, your daughter is a smart, young woman. She would not have waited when the screaming started. She would have made her way back into the city to get help.” Spock tired to reassure Bones, but he didn’t know how well he was doing. If she had stayed, they would have come across her by now. “We need to keep moving, Doctor.”

Bones reluctantly agreed. He prayed to god that Jo was okay. He didn’t think he could handle anything else at the moment. 

They continued to make their way through the forest. Bones almost tripped a few times. His whole body was sore, and with every step, Riley seemed to get heavier and heavier. Right when he was about to collapse, he saw the light from the street. Hope and relief rushed though him, and he started to speed up. They broke through the woods and Bones lost his balance toppling Riley and himself to the ground. Bones groaned and started to pick himself up. 

“Daddy!” Bones had never heard a better sound in his entire life. He rushed up and threw open his arms just in time for Jo to come crashing into them. 

“Thank god you’re okay. I was so worried about you. What happened? How did you get away?” He breathed in and hugged her tightly. 

“I was watching everything that was going on, and I saw the crazy chick kill the other guy and freak out. Then I realized that there was spider behind me. I think it wanted to eat me, so I took off running. I had almost made it out when I realized that it wasn’t chasing me anymore. I wasn’t going to back in there. I thought you had died.” Jo was sobbing into Bones’ arms by the end of her story. 

“Shh, Shh. It’s okay. We’re okay, love.” He hugged her tighter and was about to soothe her more when Spock interrupted. 

“Doctor, we need to get to a medical facility. There isn’t much time.” 

When Spock spoke, Jo looked up and saw for the first time what had happened to Jim.

“Is he okay?” She pulled out of her father’s arms and made her way over to Spock. 

“We need to get him to Starfleet medical.” Spock replied. 

Nodding, Jo looked over to her dad who was picking Riley back up. They all made their way to the street. Jo walked over to a car that was parked outside of bar. Using the skills that Jim had taught her the last time he had visited, she hot-wired the car. 

“Where the hell did you learn to do that, young lady?” Bones asked when he saw what she was doing. He couldn't believe his daughter knew how to steal a car. Just what the hell did she get up to when he was gone?

Not wanting to get Jim in trouble, she replied, “Friends taught me. You never know when you’ll need these skills. They’re coming in handy right now. So, are you driving, or am I?” 

Bones glared at her. “We will talk about this later, and no. You cannot drive.” 

They got Jim and Riley in the back with Jo. Spock took the passenger seat and Bones drove recklessly through the street trying to get to Startfleet as soon as possible. 

When they got there, everything was in chaos. People were roaming about all over, and everyone wanted to know what was going on. Bones and Spock took Jim and Riley into the sickbay where Bones started to bark orders at the nurses. Jim and Riley were taken into surgery. 

Bones grabbed Jo and brought her over to a corner out of the way. 

“You need to stay out of the way, but don’t you dare leave this room. I have to go join them in surgery. I love you.”

“Love you, too. Go take care of Uncle Jim. I’ll be fine. I promise.” She hugged him quickly before he rushed away leaving her alone. She looked around for Spock, but saw him enter into a private conference room. He had mentioned something about calling Admiral Pike and letting him know what was going on. 

Deciding that it would be okay, she walked over to the nearest bed and made herself comfortable. Pulling out her PADD, she tried to get her mind off of what had just happened. She had been surprised and glad when she realized she hadn’t lost her bag running through the woods. She would have been bored without her PADD. It wasn’t long before she fell into a fitful sleep ignoring the world around her.


	12. Chapter 12

Jim woke up to the sounds of people murmuring around him. A small part of his brain didn’t want to register the noises and tried to drag him back into unconsciousness, but that part of him was unsuccessful. He could tell that his skin had just been through the dermal regenerator by how stiff and new it felt. His head was pounding, and all he wanted was to go back to bed. He didn’t want to think about anything, but here he was awake. 

“Hey Jim. I know you’re awake. How are you feelin’?” Bones asked as he checked the vitals above Jim’s bed. 

“I feel like I got ran over. My head is killing me.” 

Bones looked worried. There were no signs of physical trauma to his head, so he didn’t know why Jim’s head would hurt this bad. “What do you remember?” He asked as he started to get a scanner. 

Jim watched Bones, but he didn’t really process what he was doing. “I- he died.” His hand that was resting on top of the blanket curled into a fist. Jim dug his nails into his palm trying to use the pain as an anchor. He couldn't break down now. 

Bones stopped messing with the scanner and reached out a hand clapping Jim on the shoulder. “I’m sorry. I know he was your friend. If you want to talk, you know where to find me.”

That was the best thing about having Bones as a friend. He seemed to know when Jim didn’t want to talk. Bones didn’t push the issue like some people did. 

Jim nodded and let out a breathe he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Can you tell me what the hell happened?” 

Bones took a deep breathe and began recounting what had happened. It was quite the story to tell, and he didn’t know how Jim was going to react to some of the news. Bones wasn’t sure if he could handle any more bad news. 

When he got to the part about Riley, Jim tensed up. “What do you mean Kevin was shot with an unknown weapon? I need to see him. Now!” He started to get himself out of the bed, but Bones was there first holding him back. 

“All right, All right. Calm down. You have been through a traumatic experience, and you are still recovering. I will help you into his room. He was given a private room. Specialists are working on his case, but Jim, we don’t know anything at this point. All we know is that he seems to be in a coma, and nothing we are doing is working. It might not end well.” Bones tried to prepare Jim, but all it did was seem to make Jim more determined to get to Kevin. 

Together, they made their way into Kevin’s room. A nurse was in there looking over his chart, but left as Bones settled Jim into the chair by the bed. 

Jim took Kevin’s hand in his. It was slightly smaller and less rough than Jim’s. Looking at it, he could remember how small it used to be when he tried to drag Jim outside to play. Jim barley held back a sob. Kevin was always going to be his son. He and T’lana had raised him. He was the last link to T’lana Jim had. Jim should have been able to protect him. He would never forgive himself for this. It was another regret to add to his list. 

Bones was watching Jim not knowing how to comfort him. He was about to make his way out of the room to give Jim some time alone when he spoke.

“He was on Tarsus with me. I helped raise the kid, and he pretty much become my son.” Bones was taken aback. He had figured they were close from the way Kevin acted, but he had not seen Jim as a father figure. He should have though. The signs were all there. The way Kevin was so admirent of Jim, and it explained why Kevin went to such lengths to save Jim. 

“I didn’t realize you were that close.” Bones really didn’t know what to say. He was hurt that Jim hadn’t seemed to trust him enough with this. 

Jim turned his head to look at Bones and seemed to read his mind. “I am sorry you had to find out the way you did. I wasn’t trying to intentionally keep you in the dark. You are and always will be my best friend Bones. I was going to tell you about it someday, but I kept putting it off because I never wanted to remember what happened on that goddamn planet.” Jim really did feel bad about that. 

Bones knew Jim felt bad, and he never could hold a grudge against those puppy eyes. “It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it now, but I expect you to tell me something later. Understand?” Bones squeezed his shoulder and watched as Jim nodded. They would finish this story some other time.

“I will give you a few minutes, but then you need to go back to your bed.” He released Jim’s shoulder and left the room quietly leaving Jim alone with Kevin. 

Bones went to go check on his daughter. He found her in the back corner asleep on an empty bio bed. Walking over to a cabinet by the far wall, he grabbed a blanket and gently covered Jo as she slept. She made a soft murmur but continued sleeping. 

Bones wished he could get some sleep, but he had so much more to do. He made his way back to Jim hating to interrupt their moment, but Jim needed to rest. The newly healed skin was fragile, and could easily reopen if Jim wasn’t careful. He would be fine in a few more hours though. 

Bones reentered Kevin’s room, and Jim slowly stood up making his way over to the door. They walked to Jim’s bed, where Jim climbed in, and Bones checked his vitals. 

“Everything looks fine. You should get some more rest.” Bones said. 

Jim snorted. “I’ll try.” Bones just smiled grimily and walked away. 

He laid there for a few moments after Bones left staring at the ceiling. His last thought before sleep took him was that Kevin had to get better.

 

********

The second time he woke up wasn’t much different from the first although Jim did feel better than before. He yawned, and slowly moved to sit up glancing around him. Jim didn’t see anyone, and he was debating on whether or not to go find Bones when the door opened. 

Jim stared in shock at the girl that walked in.

“What are you doing here?” He asked Jo who hadn’t looked up from her PADD until she heard his voice. 

Her head jerked up when she heard him. “You’re awake!” She put her PADD on a nearby bed and raced over to Jim giving him an awkward hug since he was still in bed.

“Hey kiddo. It is good to see you, but how did you get here?” 

Bones answered from the doorway where he stood watching them, “She seems to have acquired your sense of trouble. She snuck on board the shuttle to come help rescue you.” Bones said the last part in exasperation. He knew that she was only trying to help, but he was still mad at her for taking this risk. 

Jim looked down at Jo and sighed. “I am glad you wanted to help, but you could have been hurt you know that right? You shouldn't do these kinds of things.” Jim hugged her tighter for a moment before releasing her. 

“You’re one to talk. You always do stupid stuff.” Jo huffed. She didn’t understand why her dad wasn’t yelling at Jim too. 

Bones was picking up Jim’s chart looking it over when he heard her comment. He started to snicker to himself causing Jim to turn and glare at him. 

“She has a point.” Bones said smirking widely. “And did you know that she can hot wire a car? I wonder where she learned that from.” The sarcasm was clearly heard, and Jim just blushed and looked away from Bones. 

“Dad I told you my friends taught me that.” 

Jim reached out and touched her arm to get her attention. “Don’t lie to your dad.” He turned to look at Bones, “Yeah, I did teach her some things. Sorry. I just want her to be able to fend for herself.” He couldn't look into his best friend’s eyes, so he just stared in his general direction. 

Bones just rolled his eyes. “I’m glad your teaching her, but next time don’t try to hid it from me. You both suck at keeping secrets.” Bones finally understood why Jim was so insistent. After hearing about what he went through, Bones understood his desire to make sure Jo could take care of herself. “And Jim, you can keep on teaching her self defense.”

Jo grinned, “Thanks Dad, and sorry for lying and everything.” 

“It’s fine, sweetheart. Just don’t do it again. Now, I need you to go wait outside. I have to talk to Jim, and no more eavesdropping!” 

Jo ducked her head in embarrassment and hurried out the door. She was in enough trouble already, but she figured she might as well listen to the conversation anyway. It could be important. She waited unseen trying to hear into the room. 

Bones waited until the doors closed, but before he could speak Jim was already talking. 

“How is Kevin? Have the specialists learned anything new?”

“Sorry kid. There’s been no progress. I’ll keep you updated though.”

Jim shook his head, and cleared away his disappointment. 

“That’s not all.” Jim knew whatever Bones was going to say, it was going to be bad. He had the look on his face when more shit was about to hit the fan. 

“Just tell me already.” He braced himself, but there was no way he could prepare for what was said. 

“Last night, I never got to finish telling you what happened. It’s about what happened to those bastards.” Bones paused for a minute, not quite sure he wanted to go on, but Jim needed to know. “That woman, did you know who she was?”

Fear and apprehension were growing inside Jim with every word spoken. “Yeah. She was Kodos’ daughter. Why?” He hoped this wasn’t going where he thought it was going. 

“Jim, she managed to get away. Starfleet has officers out looking for her, but so far they have been unable to find any trace of her. Everyone else was recovered from the forest except her. I just thought you should know.” Bones put his arm around Jim’s shoulders and hugged him for a moment. 

Jim wasn’t even surprised about this revelation. He felt like the universe had it out for him at this point. 

“I hope they find her dead somewhere. She is insane, and most of it was caused by her father. I can understand how she turned out the way she did, but it would be better if she was dead.” Jim pushed the blankets off of his lap and stood up. 

Bones pointed to some clothes that he had found and brought in earlier. “What happened to her?”

Jim grabbed his clothes and started dressing. This wasn't the first time they had dressed or undressed in front of the other. They had, after all, lived together for three years at the academy.

Jim pulled the black Starfleet undershirt on over his head before he answered. 

“Imagine living with a crazy fucking psycho who loved to experiment on people. He told me right before Eames-” Jim swallowed and tried again. “Kodos said that he was the one that introduced the fungus to the crops. He said it was one giant experiment to see how far people were willing to go to survive.” Jim paused with his hands on the bed. He couldn't look at Bones and tell this story. Bones for his part remained silent, and Jim was thankful. If he was interrupted now, he would probably never talk about this again.

“If he could do that to a whole community, imagine what it must have been like to live with him every day. She didn’t stand a chance. He was sexually abusing his own daughter on top of all of that.” A shudder ran through him. That poor women. 

“Why can people be so cruel? I just don’t understand how such evil has survived this long. After all these years, you would think that this sort of thing wouldn't happen anymore.” Jim’s fists were curled into balls with the nails digging into his palms. 

Bones wasn’t sure how to respond. He couldn't believe that things like this still happened either. 

“Jim, I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. We will find her. Kodos is dead now, and you can fill in the Admiralty about what he said to you. I hope nothing like this ever happens again. Is there anything I can do? I hate how much this is bothering you.” Bones didn’t know how to help him. Jim had been fucked over so many times in his young life, and Bones just wished he would catch a break. 

Jim turned around and hugged his friend. “You are helping me. Thanks for listening, and I will probably come sneak in and drink with you sometime soon. I need to forget everything for one night.”

“Well, I will set aside my best bourbon. You’re welcome anytime, as you know.” Bones clapped him on the back one, then pulled away. “You’re cleared for duty, physically, but not mentally. As soon as we get back, Pike ordered psych evals. Everyone in that little program of yours is getting them, so don’t look at me like that.” Bones said to Jim’s disgruntled expression. “Now, I have to go check on patients. I will send Jo in to keep you busy.” Bones teased as he went to the door. 

“I am not a child you have to amuse, Bones.” Bones just laughed and called Joanna into the room. 

“You two please, for the love of god, stay out of trouble. I can’t handle any more stress.” They both just stared as Bones walked away. 

“We do not go looking for trouble. It usually finds us.” Jo replied indignantly. The way she said it startled a laugh out of Jim. He couldn't help but agree with her statement, though. 

“What should we do for the next couple of hours? I know I’m avoiding doing any real work. I think he still thinks I’m in shock. Not to mention, I have to talk to a shrink when we get back.” 

Jo looked up at him. “Dad’s making me see one, too. I’m kind of glad though. Every time I close my eyes I see that image of the forest. Last night, I couldn't sleep either. Too many bad dreams waking me up.” 

“Aww, Jo. I’m so sorry you had to see that. Do you want to talk about it?”

She shrugged and looked away. “I don’t know. I just hate that it happened. I keep thinking, what if you had died?”

Jim pulled her to him into a hug. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”

They continued to talk about everything that had happened not noticing the passage of time. 

 

*******

 

Lenore was devastated. Her father was dead. The one person she had been able to rely on for her whole life was gone, and it was all that Vulcan’s fault. She was going to destroy him.

Tears were streaming down her face, but she didn’t notice. The room around her was a disaster. The mirror in the bathroom was shattered along with the glass on the television screen. She had taken a knife to the bed and sheets tearing them up into tatters. The devastation of the room was a mirror image to what was going through her mind. It was so hard for her to focus. All she could do was destroy what was in front of her. Looking around, she grabbed the vase with flowers and smashed it into the wall. She watched it shatter on impact and felt slightly better. There was no way she could stay here for much longer though. 

Lenore had checked in to a small motel vastly different from where she stayed before. All she needed was somewhere quiet to lay low and sort out herself. She thought the room looked better now with her artistic touches than it did when she first arrived. The wallpaper was peeling down the sides of the wall and water stains were on the ceiling. She was pretty sure she had seen some sort of cockroach when she first walked in, but at the time, she hadn’t even cared. 

The bathroom was disgusting. Grime covered the seat of the toilet and the shower walls. The faucet leaked, and the mirror had been streaked with dirt and small cracks before Lenore had smashed it. 

Looking around at the destruction surrounding her, she felt better than she had in some time. She had asked for a room with no neighbors, but she didn’t want to be caught, so she needed to get down to business. The psi weapon she had grabbed was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her to use it. Walking over to the window, she looked out into the setting afternoon sun.

First, she had to figure out how to get into Starfleet headquarters undetected. That shouldn't be a problem though. She knew Curry would help her.


	13. Chapter 13

“There is so much I want to say to you, so much I need to tell you, but I don’t even know where to start.” Jim had disappeared from medbay at the Starfleet headquarters. They were still on this fucking planet, but he just wanted to leave and get back to Earth. So many things still had to be taken care of before that though. 

When he couldn't stand to be in sickbay any longer, Jo had helped him escape. He had been surprised that she would help, but she had assured him that she understood the need to process everything without an audience. Jim didn’t waste his opportunity and said that he would go to Spock’s place if anyone asked her. 

Breaking into Spock’s temporary room had been a piece of cake. The locks were at least five years outdated, and the room was barely furnished. It was quite a simple room. There was a small replicator in the corner with a little table that would fit two people on the right side of the room. Large windows looked down into the forest below. The double bed was on the left of the room taking up most of the wall. A small door lead to a cramped bathroom. 

Jim had been standing at the window looking out into the night after taking a quick look around. The woods looked so different from here, not the hellhole it had become. 

Spock took his time walking over to the window to stand beside Jim. “Start where ever you would like.”

“I love you.”

The silence stretched between them after Jim’s admission. Jim was starting to get antsy. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. 

“Jim, you have been through a horrendous experience...” 

Jim interrupted him, “If you try to tell me what I’m feeling I will smack you. I have been in love with you since I saw you interacting with those Vulcan children months ago.” Jim said turning from the window to look directly into Spock’s eyes. “So don’t give me that crap about a stressful situation causing me to love you. Sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, I hope...”

It was Spock’s turn to interrupt. “Jim, you mistake my concern for you with me not reciprocating your feelings.” He paused unsure whether to go on. 

Jim’s eyes brightened. “Really?” 

“Yes, Jim. I care about you. It is harder for me to say, but I feel the same.” Jim was smiling, and Spock would love to keep that smile on his face forever. 

Jim reached out with his first and middle fingers in the Vulcan sign of a kiss. He hadn’t initiated one since he had been with T’lana, but this felt right somehow. Words wouldn't be able to express everything Jim wanted to say. The caress of their fingers grew, and Jim leaned into Spock’s mouth connecting their lips. The kiss started chaste at first, but tongues were soon scraping against teeth and moans were heard in the quiet of the room. Jim didn’t let it get to out of control because he didn’t want to rush anything. 

The green blush that stained Spock’s cheeks was a sight Jim wanted to see forever. It made Jim extremely hard, but he didn’t want Spock to think this was just about sex. He pulled his hand away and slowly broke the kiss. He leaned his forehead against Spock’s, breathing heavy. 

“We need to slow down. I don’t want to rush this. I don’t want you to think this is just sex.” Jim wasn’t sure how to express what he was feeling. He felt like he didn’t deserve Spock. It seemed like everything good in Jim’s life got destroyed, and he didn’t know if he could go through with this. He didn’t want to hurt Spock. 

“Jim, I know how much this means to you, how much it means to us. Love is not about whether a person deserves it or not. Love is unconditional, and it should make you a better person. We can go as slow as you need.” Spock whispered against Jim. 

Jim groaned. “Why do you say these things to me? I hate when you’re right.”

“I am right ninety-nine percent of the time.” Spock replied, and Jim noticed the amused look in his eyes. It had become so much easier to read Spock over the last couple of months. Bones always complained about how Spock never seemed to care, but he just didn’t see what Jim saw. When Jim had first understood Spock’s humor, he had been shocked into silence. He remembered staring at Spock, and Bones had to nudge him and ask if he was all right. It had been an interesting revelation, and Jim had taken the opportunities since then to get Spock to smile. It was one of his goals. He was going to see a smile on that Vulcan’s face if it was the last thing he did.

Jim just shook his head and leaned up for another kiss. One hand was clutching at the fabric of Spock’s shirt. The other was gently caressing Spock’s fingers.

Spock was lost in a sea of sensation. He knew Jim was hesitant about something, so he let Jim set the pace, but with all the stimulation he wasn’t sure how much longer he could take this.

“Jim.” Spock breathed his name like a prayer hoping Jim would decided to do something. Spock didn’t even care what he did. He just wanted Jim to do something. 

Jim pulled back slightly. He searched Spock’s face looking for something. He must have found it because the next thing Spock knew he was being guided to the bed. 

Hands were everywhere. Jim couldn't stop touching Spock. He wanted to do anything and everything with Spock. 

“Take this off. Why do you always wear so many clothes?” Jim was tugging at the blue science shirt Spock was wearing. 

“I am simply wearing the regulation clothing.” 

“Well, it’s time to take it all off.” 

They struggled out of their clothing, and Jim almost fell off the bed. He huffed out a laugh and crawled up to Spock. Kissing him was like nothing Jim had ever felt before. It was amazing how well they fit together, and Jim couldn't believe they hadn’t done this sooner. Their hands were intertwined, and Jim could feel Spock’s erection pressed against his leg. He shifted, and Spock moaned. Pulling back, Jim grinned down at Spock. 

“You like that, don’t you?” Jim only had the upper hand for a moment before Spock flipped them both over. 

Jim was not prepared for that at all, and let out a high pitched shriek. At least a that was what he was going to tell himself.

“You cheated. It’s not fair to use Vulcan strength.” 

“I learned from the best, did I not?” The amused light in Spock’s eyes gave Jim a sign of how Spock was feeling. He loved that look in Spock’s eyes. He reached up and caressed a brow trailing it to the tip of his pointed ear. Spock shuddered when Jim started rubbing the tip between two fingers. 

“That is cheating Jim. This is not going to last very long if you keep this up.” Jim merely smiled in reply. He loved making Spock come undone. It was quite the contrast to how he normally was, and it gave Jim a thrill to see him in a way very few people had. The only thing that would make it better was if they melded. 

“Can we meld?” Spock froze at the question. Melding was very personal, and it was especially intimate during sex. It signified deep trust and a commitment to the future. 

When Spock didn’t answer right away, Jim grew restless. Maybe he shouldn't have asked to meld with Spock so soon. Jim knew just how significant this was, but for just a moment, he wanted to feel that connection. 

“We don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable.” Jim tired to fill the silence. He was nervously running his hand through his hair, and it was getting uncomfortable with Spock staring at him from above. 

“Jim are you sure you wish to meld? Melding is a deeply personal experience, and it signifies-” 

“I know Spock. The other Spock told me when we melded on Delta Vega.” That wasn’t exactly the truth, but Jim didn’t want to get into that can of worms right now. The other Spock had told him about melds, but that was obviously not the first time he had heard of one. Jim would tell Spock later. They had more important things to do right now.

Upon hearing what Jim said, Spock sat up. 

“You melded with him?” 

From the tone of his voice, Jim thought he seemed jealous. He couldn't believe it.

“Are you jealous of yourself?”

“If you find this so amusing, you are welcome to leave.” Spock was glaring at Jim. 

“Hey, don’t be mad. I thought it was cute. I feel very flattered by that.” Jim reached for Spock’s shoulder and tugged him back down. 

“Now, can we get back to where we were?” He didn’t wait for an answer just crushed his lips to Spock’s. Jim used his teeth to gently bite Spock’s bottom lip causing Spock to moan thrust his hips down. 

Jim pushed up against him and dragged one of his hands down Spock’s back to cup his ass. He was kneading the flesh in his hand and gently sucking on Spock’s lower lip while his other hand reached between them. He guided both erections in his hand and slowly rubbed them together. It wasn’t long before Spock pulled back. 

“Jim.” His voice was strained and gravelly from the arousal running through his body. “If you keep this up, it will be over too fast.” 

“Yeah, but it’s so good. You have any lube here?” 

“Negative.” 

“Shit. I think I have some in my pants pocket. Let me up.” He pushed at Spock’s chest until he rolled off Jim. 

Hurrying to his pants, that somehow managed to end up in the corner of the room, Jim checked the pockets. After Tarsus, he had sworn off relationships and just had one night stands. He usually kept a packet in the pockets because he never knew when he would need it. 

Turning back to the bed, Jim paused and looked over at Spock. He was beautiful, and Jim would never get enough of staring at him. The flush of green on his cheeks and the green tinge to his cock was exquisite. Jim wanted to do so many things to that body, but he had to settle on one first. 

Spock saw the look in Jim’s eyes from where he was standing at the end of the bed. It was the same look a starving man would give a piece of steak. Jim looked ready to devour him, and it left Spock slightly unsettled. 

“Jim.” Spock gestured for Jim to stop staring and come back to bed. 

Jim made his way back and slowly crawled up to Spock climbing over him and leaning down to capture Spock’s lips with his own.

Jim knew that Vulcans rarely had sex outside of marriage. He wasn’t sure if Spock had done anything with Uhura, and he wasn’t sure if he should bring it up. Deciding to bring it up anyway he asked, “Have you ever done this before?” 

Spock tensed at the question, but answered honestly after a moment. “I have engaged in sexual intercourse before Jim. However, I have never done so with another male before.” 

Jim nodded. “I figured, so I thought I would bottom this time, unless you want to?” 

Spock really didn’t care. He just wanted to move things along. 

“It does not matter to me.” He reached up, kissed Jim again this time distracting him. Spock had his hand around Jim and eased the packet of lube out of his fingers. Jim didn’t even notice. 

Maneuvering both of his arms around Jim so he could open the packet was difficult to say the least. It was worth it to see the look of surprise on Jim’s face when Jim felt the cool lube and a hot finger gently caressing his hole. 

“You are a sneaky little bastard, you know that?” He was breathing deeply trying to get Spock to push the tip of his finger in. “Remind me to keep an eye on you.” Jim groaned when Spock breached him. Jim sat back trying to get more. It had been a long while since he had bottomed for anyone. It was a good feeling. He couldn't believe he had gone this long without it. 

He glanced at Spock’s face and then did a double take. Spock had his eyes squeezed shut and the muscles in his neck stood out. Taking in the flush of his body, Jim noticed that his cock was leaking, flushed a beautiful green color. Jim wriggled a little on the finger that was inside him and watched as Spock came even more undone. He had forgotten for a moment how sensitive Vulcan hands were. 

“God Spock. I need more. Come on.” Just watching how this affected Spock was turning Jim on. 

Spock could barley think let alone move. He started working another finger into Jim, but the feeling of the tight heat was distracting. Every time he moved his fingers it sent a shock straight to his cock. He was slowly scissoring his fingers stretching Jim’s hole. Spock shifted his hand to get a better grip, and Jim gasped. Spock froze unsure what just happened. 

“Jim, are you well?” 

Jim could hardly breathe, but he managed to croak out, “Do that again. It felt really good.” 

Spock crooked his fingers feeling for that one spot, and when he found it, Jim went wild. His moaning and grunting hit a new level of pornographic sounds, but Jim didn’t even care to feel embarrassed by it. Spock didn’t mind it either. He loved the sounds Jim was making, but it wasn’t long before Jim was demanding more.

“I’m ready, Spock. I need you in me right now.” Jim didn’t even wait for Spock to acknowledge him. He just grabbed the rest of the lube packet and poured it onto his hand. He grabbed Spock’s dick and slicked it up. Spock thrust up into Jim’s hand. He had not expected Jim to do that, but he wasn’t going to complain. Jim stroked him twice before he slowly lined Spock up with his hole. 

Since Jim was on top, it was easier for him to control how much he could take in. He managed to sink half way before he had to stop and adjust to how full he was. Jim looked down at Spock and saw him biting his lip. Spock was trying so hard to be patient and not thrust up into the warm, wet heat.

After a minute, Jim was able to sink down the rest of the way bottoming out. He groaned and waited a moment to adjust. 

“Damn, Spock you feel good.” Jim wiggled around a bit, and Spock grunted clutching his hands in the sheets. 

“Jim stop teasing, and do something.” 

Jim grinned down at him and reached over to grab Spock’s hand. He looked Spock straight in the eye as he brought one of Spock’s fingers to his mouth. As he sucked the finger into his mouth, he raised his hips almost pulling off of Spock’s dick and slammed back down.

Spock grunted and let out a swear word in Vulcan. He shut his eyes from the sight of Jim. There was too much going on, and Spock wasn’t going to last long if Jim kept this up. 

Jim had never heard Spock swear. He raised his eyebrows and felt very proud of the fact that he could make Spock fall apart like this. Noticing that Spock had closed his eyes, Jim sucked harder on the finger before popping it out. 

“Spock. Look at me.” Spock opened his eyes and saw the dazed look on Jim’s face. He timed it perfectly as Jim thrust down, Spock thrust up. Jim sucked in a gasp and started to lose his rhythm. They were both so close to the edge, and Jim couldn't wait any longer. He grabbed Spock’s hand and brought it up to his meld points hoping Spock would get the hint. 

Spock groaned. “Are you sure, Jim?” 

“Yes, I’m sure. Now fucking hurry up already.” Jim was so close. 

“My mind to your mind.” Spock whispered the words, and they slid together effortlessly minds becoming one. 

Jim was overwhelmed with feeling. He could feel how good Spock felt, and the power of what each was experiencing was incredible.

Jim felt Spock thrust up, and that was all Jim could take. He was coming, bliss in every corner of his mind and body. He could feel Spock surround him, and he was dimly aware of Spock reaching bliss, too. 

Jim collapsed on Spock, but it took awhile before he noticed. They lay on the bed still connected mentally and bodies still touching. Jim couldn't find words to describe how he felt. That had been amazing. He never wanted to move from this bed. 

With their minds touching, Jim was able to tell that Spock felt the same. ‘I’m not crushing you, am I?’ He mentally projected to Spock. 

Spock was surprised that Jim knew how to do that. Usually, it took practice and time before a human was able to communicate telepathically. 

Jim easily read Spock and knew he would have to start talking soon. He wanted to put it off a while longer. ‘I’m going to go clean up.’ Spock made a move to get up, but Jim ushered him down. ‘I will bring a cloth back out.’ 

Breaking the meld and getting up, Jim made his way into the bathroom. He came out a few minutes later and handed Spock a damp cloth to clean up. Jim went to the other side of the bed and got in under the covers. Spock dropped the cloth on the floor and joined Jim. 

The silence stretched between them for a few moments as Jim got his thoughts in order. Turning to took at Spock, he said in Vulcan, “It all started when I was ten. Before then, life was okay. My mother wasn’t around much, and if she was, she didn’t pay attention to me, so I acted out and got into fights. I guess she couldn't handle it any more and decided to go back into space. She always told me that was where she felt closer to my father. She wanted to die in space - still does actually, but that’s not the point. Anyway, she wanted to get back to space, so she shipped me off planet to go live with my aunt and uncle on Tarsus IV. My brother, Sam, got to stay on Earth with our step dad. He was a dick, and we never really had a father son relationship, so I didn’t mind getting off planet.

Tarsus was amazing for the first two years I was there. For the first time, I knew what it was like to be part of a family and have people care about you. I met amazing people there, but then the famine struck. 

Everything went bad, Spock. I can’t even describe it. I just-” Jim’s voice trailed off. There was no way he was going to be able to talk about this. He focused on Spock’s face. “Can I show you what happened? I don’t think I can talk about it.”

Spock saw how vulnerable Jim was. He nodded and gently brought up his hand to Jim’s face bringing them together once more. 

Their minds fit perfectly together and complemented each other. Jim’s mind was the chaos of a small waterfall surrounded by beautiful lush forest; whereas Spock’s mind was the desert on a hot, summer day. 

Jim grabbed onto Spock’s hand in the representation of their minds and pulled him to the memory he needed to see.


	14. Chapter 14

The wind was blowing across the barren fields, and the smells of death and decay were very prominent in the air. It had smelled like this for the better part of a year, and most of the people in the colony had grown accustomed to it. The sweltering heat beat down on the only two brave souls that had dared to venture this far from their secret cave which hid about seventeen people. Black, glue like substance covered the ground where rows of corn and other agricultural food products had once stood. The two young teens sat huddled next to each other on a small, rocky outcropping looking at the disaster of the world around them. It felt like a lifetime ago that they and some of the other children had chased each other through these once green fields. Those were happier times. It seemed, in the blink of an eye, the world had turned to shit, all because of a fungus that destroyed the food supply.

The young girl’s stomach growled loudly in the silent atmosphere. Food had been really scarce, and any food they did manage to get their hands on went to the younger children. She didn’t need as much food as the rest of them due to her Vulcan biology, but it was getting to the point where she would need nourishment soon. 

“Tomorrow, when we get more food, you are going to eat some.” 

“No, James.” She replied. “I can go another two days.”

“Don’t try to lie to me. I thought Vulcans didn’t lie, and I share a bond with you. I can tell how hungry you are.”

“Vulcans do not lie. I can go without food for another two days. The younger ones need it more than I do.”

“You are not going to be any good to them dead.” James snapped. He winced as he felt how much that hurt her even though it didn’t show on her face. “I’m sorry. I just don’t like knowing you’re suffering.” He reached out his index and middle fingers toward her in the accepted way of Vulcan kissing. She returned it, stroking up and down his fingers. 

“I do not like you suffering either. You are just as hungry as I am.” Her long, brown hair blew into her face, and James reached over and gently tucked it back behind her pointed ear. He smiled down at her and looked into her light, brown eyes. She was the only thing keeping him together at this point. 

When they had first met, they clicked instantly. She had come here with her parents on a research trip. It was only supposed to last about three months, but, when the famine struck, her parents had stayed to help research the cause and possible solutions. They had ended up dead along with anyone else that worked in the research departments. Over four thousand people were murdered because Governor Kodos deemed them unfit for society. T’lana was supposed to have died with them, but she had been with James instead of her parents that day. 

When they had found out what was going on, they had both decided to save as many people as they could. They managed to find a total of seventeen people, and somehow, James and T’lana had become the leaders of the little rebel group.

They stole food, but, as time passed, it became harder and harder to steal it. James then had to find another way of getting food. When he was eventually caught and brought before Governor Kodos, James expected to die. Sometimes, he wished he would have. Kodos was impressed that such a young child was as resourceful as James was, and they struck a deal. 

“Hey, do not think about it. We have no need to do anything right now.” T’lana interrupted James’ downward spiraling thoughts. They had been able to share thoughts ever since they bonded. It made communicating easier, but it was torture when one of them blocked to the other. 

“I don’t want you to do anything. I was the one that made the deal. You shouldn't have to do this.”

“That is not your decision to make now, is it? You know you saved me right? I’m glad it was you.” T’lana laid her head on his shoulder. “Let us just enjoy our moment right now before we have to go back.”

“All right.” James answered. 

They sat in the sun for a few moments longer before they had to get back to the others. They were going to get more food this evening and had to prepare. For James, this had been one of the best days he had had in a long while. He usually never got to spend any time with T’lana just hanging out like they used to. Little did he know that Death was but a kiss away. 

 

*********

 

The narrow hidden entrance to the cave was easily missed, if you weren’t looking for it. After squeezing in through a short passage, the cave opened up to a big area that comfortably fit all nineteen people. Bed rolls and other accessories they had managed to salvage from the houses of the dead made up all the possessions. 

A young, blonde boy, about six years old, came running up to them as they made their way inside. He loved James and T’lana and felt safe whenever they were around. He didn’t like when they left though because his parents had left one day, and they never came back. He was afraid the same thing would happen to James and T’lana. 

“You’re back! I thought you weren’t coming back.” He threw his arms around James’ legs and clutched him tightly. 

“I promised we would be back. You know I would never leave you, squirt.” James bent down and wrapped his arms around the little boy. He and T’lana had started to care for Kevin when she found him abandoned in the old Riley household right after the mass murder. His parents had also been part of the research team. It was really lucky that Kevin had managed to survive on his own like he did. He still didn’t understand what was going on, but he knew that his parents were never coming back.

“Can we play outside? I hate this cave, and I wanna go outside.” Kevin asked as T’lana stroked her hand through his hair. She had found that this gesture reduced his anxiety and seemed to calm him. 

“After you have eaten supper, we will go outside for a short time. We will continue on with your lessons.” 

“’kay. I’m hungry anyway.”

Jim released Kevin and made his way to the food stores. They were running low again and would have to get more tonight. He was not looking forward to that. Him, T’lana, Eames, and Tom usually went to get the food. They never told anyone how they got the food, but some of the older people suspected, and they were just glad they didn’t have to do it. 

T’lana, Eames, Tom, and James would leave after nightfall when there was less risk of being caught. They couldn't afford to have any of Kodos’ guards follow them back here, or the guards would kill them all. Kodos knew they were hiding people, but he could never figure out how many or where. T’lana was sure the only reason they were still alive was because of James. He seemed to be able to talk his way into or out of anything. Half of the time, she couldn't even understand what was going through his mind, and she shared it with him through the bond. 

James handed her a small piece of bread. 

“I told you. I do not require nourishment at this time.”

James just sighed and said, “I took less, and I’m going to share it with you. You did the same thing to me last week. Now we’re even, if it makes you feel better.”

“James, this isn’t about getting even. You should eat it.”

James looked at her with pleading eyes, “Please eat this little bit. I would feel so much better if you did.”

“You would have no physical response if I eat something.”

“Please.” It wasn’t the first time he had begged for her to do something.

T’lana gave in and slowly ate the piece of bread. How could she not give in? James almost always got people to do what he wanted, and she knew that doing this small act would make him feel much better emotionally even though she didn’t understand how it could. 

Dinner went by quickly, and Kevin was growing restless. He had been stuck in here all day, and he wanted to go out and play. T’lana took his hand and lead him to the entrance of the cave. James would join them later after he finished talking to some of the others about their plans for later that night. 

T’lana let Kevin run around for half an hour to burn off his excess energy. She knew if she tried to make him sit still, it would be a worthless effort. Humans seemed unable to sit still for long periods of time. She had learned so much about the human culture ever since she arrived, but there were still some things that confused her. Her understanding had grown in leaps and bounds when she and James bonded. Some days, she was glad of the bond because it was the only thing keeping her sane. Other days, she worried about what would happen if one of them died. When those days occurred, she pushed the worry out of her mind because worry was illogical. They were both alive right now, and that was all that mattered. 

“Kevin,” She called. “It is time for your lesson.” 

“Ugh! I don’t want to. Can I just play for a few more minutes?”

“No. You know the rules. You will have your lesson now, and you may play again later.” She was very firm on this. If they managed to survive, then he would have less to catch up on later, and so the lesson commenced. 

James joined them sometime later. He loved these little lessons. For the last half an hour, she would tell them things about her culture. It was always fun to learn, and Kevin loved learning about it. Often before they went to bed, she would share even more details with James. Those were the nights where she had taught him to speak and read Vulcan. The bond made it easier to understand and communicate, but he loved these little lessons, too. 

“Can I play now? I wanna play tag. Can we play?”

James smiled and looked over at T’lana. She usually refused to play, but sometimes she would indulge Kevin. 

“All right. We will both play, but you know the rules. Don’t go past the tree line and no climbing to high places where you could fall,” she answered. 

James just smiled, and quickly stood up. “Tag you’re it.” He said to Kevin as he touched his arm and danced away from both of them. 

“You cheated! I wasn’t ready.” Kevin pouted, and when James slowed down, Kevin took off running and tried to catch up to him. 

The game went on for a while, before T’lana and James both quit. Kevin was fine with that but continued to play on his own. He didn’t want to go back to the cave anytime soon because that would mean it was bedtime. He hated having a bedtime. No one else had to go to bed as early as he did.

As he was wondering down by the end of the tree line, he heard a rustling in the bushes. T’lana always told him to never go into the open field. The barren tress and old dying shrubs gave some protection and cover, but he was curious to know what was over there. So deciding to investigate, Kevin went to the very edge of the tree line. He saw some creature in the middle of the forest. It looked like a lizard that they had caught and eaten before. Maybe he could catch it. Kevin made his way quietly into the clearing intent on creeping up behind the lizard. 

Just as he was getting close, Kevin tripped over a rock and crashed to the ground. A loud bang was heard throughout the clearing scaring Kevin and causing him to scramble away. Another noise was heard just as Kevin made it past the trees. He didn’t know what was going on, but he could hear voices, and they didn’t sound friendly. He tripped again hitting his head. He couldn't get away fast enough, and two guards from Kodos’ security were on him. Kevin screamed as they hit him. 

James and T’lana were talking quietly when they heard the first shot. They were up and moving before the sound died down. When the second shot was heard, they knew something had happened to Kevin. What they saw when they found him was horrific. 

The two guards were beating up a six year old boy, and James wouldn't stand for that. He was on them before they realized they were there. James jumped on the back of one of the guards, and T’lana was taking care of the other one. Normally, if the circumstances were better, James and T’lana could hold there own. Unfortunately, the lack of food and constant hunger had reduced their muscle mass, and the guards had the upper hand. Out of no where, Kevin hit the guard that James is wrestling with. This caused enough of a distraction for James to kick the guard off balance. The guard fell to the ground striking his head on the way down. Blood, thick and red, is oozed out of his skull, and James quickly pulled Kevin away. 

“You need to go back to camp, and tell Eames and Tom to get here as fast as possible. Run now!” James shouted urgently to Kevin. Kevin nodded and started back towards the cave. 

A single shot rang out, and Kevin paused. He turned around and watched as the closest woman he had as a mother fell to the ground, green blood dripping from her side.

“NOOOOOOOO!” Kevin watched as James attacked the guard. He had never seen James this angry before. He watched as the guard was killed by James’ bare hands, and in that moment, he knew that James would never be the same again. 

James was pushing back T’lana’s hair from her face. The bond was filled with pain and emotions that he couldn't control. She was bleeding out in front of him, and he couldn't do a thing to save her. 

“Promise me you will not blame yourself or Kevin for this.” T’lana breathed out. 

“What? Are you serious right now? You are going to be fine. You can’t go. You promised you wouldn't leave me. T’lana!”

“Promise me, James. I know you. You will try to find a way to blame this on yourself, but it is not your fault. None of this should have happened to us. It is Kodos’ fault. Promise me.” 

“I promise. Please just don’t go. I love you.” Jim pushed every emotion he had into the bond. She wasn’t going to die. She couldn't. Tears were streaming down his face, and he couldn't stop the anger and grief bubbling up inside him. It wasn’t fair. Why was every bit of good sucked out of his life? Was the universe trying to tell him that he couldn't have happiness?

T’lana pushed love and acceptance through the bond. “It will get better James. Do not give up hope. You are the only one who can save those people. I believe in you, and I will always love you.”

“No. Don’t say that. Don’t leave me. T’lana.” His head was starting to hurt, but he pushed it away. He didn’t have time to deal with a headache right now, but the pulsing, agonizing pain was getting worse. Just as he was about to speak again, the pain overwhelmed him. He released his grip on T’lana’s hand and brought both his hands to his head. It felt like he was going to die. The pain was so intense. Blackness was starting to cloud his vision, and he heard Eames voice from far away calling his name, but he couldn't answer. He was out before his head hit the ground. 

 

*************

 

The quiet murmuring and the smell of too many unwashed bodies brought him back to consciousness. His head was pounding in a steady rhythm, and it was hard to focus on anything. James felt like he was bleeding inside his head. It felt like an open wound just oozing, and it was making him sick. James didn’t even think he could move. He felt like half of him died, and he didn’t know how to go on from here.

“Hey. I think he’s awake.” A voice shouted to the others. Suddenly, there were people surrounding him. He couldn't do anything, but turn on his side and throw up all over the floor. His hands were shaking, and the room was spinning. He felt like he was drifting, and there was nothing to hold onto. 

“Everyone, let’s give him some room. Back up, you hear me?” That was Eames. James was surprised he recognized the voice in his state. 

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” Eames was asking all these questions, but all James could focus on was the emptiness inside his head. It wasn’t supposed to be empty. Where was she? 

The shaking in his hands got worse, and he couldn't catch his breath. He was suffocating, but there was air around him. Nothing made sense. 

“Shit. I think he’s having a panic attack. Listen to me. James listen to me. Breathe with me, okay? Deep breath in, and hold it. Now let it out slowly. That’s it. Keep it going.” The calming voice of Eames helped James catch his breath. Slowly his hands stopped shaking, and his breathing evened out. The pounding in his head was still there, and he didn’t know how to make it stop. He wished he was unconscious again, then he wouldn't have to deal with the pain anymore. 

James suddenly remembered Kevin. “Kevin? Where is he? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. A little shaken up, but we all are.” Eames said. 

“Good. I’m going...” He didn’t even finish the sentence before he passed out.

 

*********

The next time he woke up, his head seemed to hurt a little less. He wasn’t sure if he was just getting used to the pain or if it really had lessened. He slowly sat up, groaning as he did. He looked around him and noticed that most of the people were sleeping. James sat there just trying to come to terms with what had happened. 

The sun was rising and streaks of sunlight were spilling in through the narrow cave entrance before James realized how long he had been sitting there. 

“Hey you’re awake.” Eames walked over and knelt down next to him. “How are you feeling?” 

James couldn't answer. None of them knew what T’lana had meant to him. None of them could understand how he was feeling because he couldn't even begin to describe it to himself. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. He couldn't even think. 

When James continued to just stare out in front of him without acknowledging his presence, Eames became even more worried. James had been out for a whole day, and they were running out of food. T’lana and James were the leader of this little rebellion and, with T’lana gone and James not functioning, he didn’t know if they were going to make it. 

“James, are you okay? I have some food here. You need to eat it.” Eames tried to hand him some bread, but James didn’t respond. He was lost in his own little world, and Eames didn’t know if he would ever get better. 

 

*********

The hours passed slowly, and the people started to get restless. The anxiety and tension in the air was increasing by the minute. Small useless fights broke out between members, and Eames and Tom were trying their best to keep everything under control. James hadn’t moved or spoken. As he sat in the corner, the rest of the people kept giving him looks of betrayal for not getting more food and sadness because they knew T’lana and James had been close. They didn’t understand what had happened to cause such a reaction in their young leader though. He had never reacted to one of them dying like this before, so they gave him space. Maybe he had finally snapped, and now they were all doomed. 

A young boy was crying, and he wouldn't stop. People were talking and yelling, and all James wanted was silence. The crying was getting louder. He hated crying. He didn’t cry, so no one else should be able to either. Crying didn’t solve anything. It was just annoying. Would someone shut the kid up? 

He heard a few voices mixed in with the crying, but couldn't make out more than one or two words. 

“...Not your fault… couldn't have known”

“T’lana…”

The sound of the voice saying her name caused Jim to jolt back to the real world. He knew those voices. James knew who was crying, and he was supposed to take care of him. He had promised her that he wouldn't blame Kevin, and that he would look after him and the rest of the people here. What was he doing sitting here? He had work to do. 

James pushed his pain and shock away from his mind. He could think about it later if he had to. It was time to get to work. When he tried to move, he realized that his muscles had gone stiff. Slowly, he started to stretch, and make his way over to Kevin.

Everyone stopped what they were doing as they watched James make his way over to Kevin and Eames. Silence was descending across the space.

Kevin looked up and saw James coming closer. His crying increased, and he clung to Eames scared that James would blame him. Eames didn’t know what to do and watched warily to see how James reacted to the situation. 

“Hey, kiddo. It’s all right. Come here.” James whispered quietly. He ran a soothing hand across Kevin’s back. Kevin threw himself into James arms and harsh sobs broke the silence of the room. 

When the sobs slowed down to small whimpers, James eased Kevin back a little and looked directly into to his eyes. 

“It was not your fault. Do not ever blame yourself her death. She died because of Kodos, and if you need to blame someone, blame him. She may not be here physically, but she and your parents will always be with you right here.” He said tapping Kevin’s chest right above his heart. “Understand?”

Kevin nodded. James pulled him into his chest again and hugged him. 

A short time later, James realized that Kevin had gone to sleep. He eased Kevin onto a mat and gently tucked him in. Standing up, James decided on what to do next. They needed food. That was the most important thing right now. 

“All right everyone listen up. We need some people to come with me, Eames, and Tom to get food. The rest of you can stay here. Is there anyone willing to come? After we get food, we can talk about what happened.”

Two hands were raised, and James nodded at them to come along. Quickly gesturing to the others, the five of them made there way out of the cave. 

The closer they got to the city, the more they could tell that something was wrong. Smoke was rising up from different parts of the city, and screams were heard. James started running, and the rest of them hurried to keep up. 

The city was in total chaos. Fires were everywhere. People were screaming, and guards were trying to shoot men in Federation apparel. It took James several minutes to realize that Starfleet had come sooner than expected. 

An officer saw them and approached. James stepped forward, relief clear in his face. 

“I am Jim Tiberius Kirk, and we are the ones Kodos tried to kill.” 

Everything happened so fast after that, and Jim could only remember so much. His head had started to hurt viciously after the officer lead them to medical tent. It wasn’t until later that he learned that Kodos was dead. They said they found his body burned beyond recognition. Jim was fine with that. He hoped Kodos suffered long and hard. 

Most of the four thousand people that Kodos had kept alive survived the attack between the guards and Starfleet. Thanks to Jim, seventeen more people made it out alive as well. Of all the people that survived, only nine of them had seen and interacted with Kodos. Jim would never forget that face for as long as he lived, and he could never forget what had happened on that planet. 

When he had finally been taken to Earth, his mother swept the whole thing under the rug. She persuaded the admiralty to leave his name out of the records and paid off others. Jim had wanted to see Kevin and make sure that he would be all right, but she made sure he had no contact with anyone from that planet again. 

Life on Earth was hell for Jim. He hated his step father Earl who was an abusive drunk, and he hated his mother who abandoned him within a month after he had gotten back. Jim’s head was always hurting, and he didn’t talk to anyone. His older brother Sam was never around, and one day after he and Earl got into a vicious fight, Sam left. The depression had gotten so bad that Jim took his father’s car and drove it over a cliff. He almost didn’t survive, but at the last second his survival instinct kicked in, and he grabbed the edge of the cliff and dragged himself back up. From that moment on, he didn’t give a shit about anybody or anything.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Real life has been kicking my butt!
> 
> *******

It took awhile before Jim even realized the meld had ended. He was cradled in Spock’s arms breathing deeply and clutching at Spock for dear life. It wasn’t until Spock lifted his hand and brought it to his cheek that Jim even knew he was crying. Spock wiped the tears from his face and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. 

“Jim, none of that was your fault. You did the best you could in those terrible circumstances, and no matter what you tell me, I will always care about you.” 

Spock could not believe the horror that Jim had gone through. All he wanted to do was protect the man in his arms. Spock pulled him closer and hugged him tightly.

“You had to do what you needed to survive. It was only logical.” 

Jim let out a wet laugh. “Only you would say it was logical. I did have a choice, Spock. I let Kodos do those things to me.”

Spock grabbed Jim’s chin and raised his head to meet Jim’s eyes. “You did not have a choice. That man was a monster, and if he were not already dead, I would kill him.” Spock had never been more serious in his entire life. 

Jim searched Spock’s face and gave a tiny nod. He trusteed Spock’s judgement. 

“I just found out that Kodos intentionally started the famine. He said he did it in the name of science. He wanted to see how far people were willing to go to survive. I hate that man with every fiber of my being, and I can’t tell you the relief I feel now that he is dead.”

Spock stared at Jim. The anger that was running through his veins was something Spock had never felt before. It was like a molten lava, and Spock was ready to erupt. Spock wished that monster was still alive so he could slowly torture him and make him suffer for what he had done to Jim. 

Not wanting Jim to see how angry he was, Spock pulled Jim back to his chest. 

“That monster is lucky he is dead.” 

Jim knew Spock was furious. He was just glad that he wasn’t mad at him. Jim had been on the receiving side of his anger once before, and he didn’t care to experience it again. 

They lay there in silence each processing their own thoughts. It wasn’t long before Jim started to get restless though. 

“Is there anything else you want to know?” Jim didn’t really want to talk about it anymore. 

Spock took a moment to think over everything he had been told. There was nothing that he wanted clarification on. However, he did have a comment to make. 

“I always wondered how you knew so much about Vulcan culture. Looking back on your actions, there were signs that you knew more than you let on, but I dismissed them.”

“Yeah. I tried to pretend I didn’t know anything. It was easier that way. No one would ask how I knew, and it saved me from having to remember that part of my life. Don’t get me wrong. I loved her-still do, but you can’t explain that kind of relationship to others. No one really understands what we went through. The only people who would come close would be Vulcans, but you lot never want to talk about emotions or anything like that.” Jim murmured into Spock’s throat his breath caressing Spock’s skin. 

“I see. I am glad you felt you could share this with me.” Spock ran his hand up and down Jim’s back. “The bond that you shared, did you ever see a healer?” Spock inquired. A damaged bond would have been extremely dangerous and painful to any human that survived a loss of a partner. Spock had a feeling that Jim had not been able to see a healer. 

His feeling was confirmed when Jim answered, “No. My mother would have never let me even if she had known about it. I never told anyone how close T’lana and I were. Not even the group of people we saved. The only one who knew was Kevin and because he was so young, he didn’t understand what it meant. Don’t worry about me, Spock. I made it this far without dying.”

“Jim, you should see a healer when we get to New Vulcan. It is dangerous when left alone. I also know that you have been in extreme pain. Do not try to deny it. I have seen and felt it in the meld we shared.” He said when he saw that Jim was going to interrupt. 

Jim huffed out a breath. “I feel much better now. Whenever we touch, I don’t even feel the pain anymore.” 

Spock stared a Jim with a look of confusion on his face. “I have never heard of that happening.” Spock gazed off into the distance. The only explanation was that they were somehow starting a bond, but that should not be possible. 

“What is it Spock? I don’t like that look on your face.” Jim was looking at Spock’s face, and he could see the slight crinkles in the corner of his eyes. 

“The only explanation I have is that we may be starting a bond ourselves. However, I am unsure. We would need to speak with a healer at the next available opportunity. I would also recommend not melding for the time being.” Spock finished with a tiny frown on his face. 

“Oh.” Jim stopped breathing for a moment when Spock finished. He wasn’t ready for a full committed relationship. Not to mention, he shouldn't even be deciding these kinds of things after everything that had just happened. 

The silence between them stretched again, and Jim was starting to feel drowsy. He didn’t want to think about this any more. So much had happened recently, and all he wanted to do was stay curled up right here with Spock, not thinking about the future or the outside world. 

Jim moved to a more comfortable spot on the bed. Once he was situated, Spock moved to curl around him. They both fell into an easy sleep holding onto each other. 

 

*******

 

Bones had just heard the news. Someone had spotted Lenore about an hour ago on Starfleet grounds. Bones knew this was going to be bad, and he had to warn Jim. He ran all the way to sickbay looking for Jim as he went. As usual, the idiot hadn’t taken a communicator with him, so Bones had no way to get in contact with him. He was going to put a permeant tracker on that kid one of these days. 

Hurrying past a nurse with a ‘sorry’ thrown over his shoulder, he rushed through the doors of sickbay looking around for Jim. He didn’t see him anywhere. 

“Dad? Is everything all right?” Jo didn’t like the expression on her father’s face. It was the same look he used when something was wrong. 

“Have you seen Jim? It’s important. Lenore was spotted on Starfleet grounds within the last hour. No one knows where she is now, but they’re looking for her. I need to warn Jim.” Bones said in a rush. 

“She’s here?!? How did she get in?” Jo suddenly felt nauseous. She hated that woman, and now she wasn’t even safe here in Starfleet. Not waiting for an answer, Jo continued on, “Jim went to see Spock. He said he needed to talk to him. I don’t know where Spock is though.” 

Bones saw how scared she was. She never should have been involved in this. Guilt flooded him, and for a second, he felt like he was drowning in it. He pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear, “Everything is going to be fine. I want you to stay here. I will get one of the men from security to come up and stay with you. I need to go find Spock and Jim. They need to know what’s going on.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then made his way over to the communication unit on the wall to request a security offer to come to sickbay. 

Pacing across the room of sick bay, Bones was growing increasingly worried. He wished the security guy would show up. He didn’t want to leave until he knew that Jo was safe. 

Jo interrupted his worried thoughts. “Dad, I’ll be fine. You need to go and make sure Uncle Jim is all right.” Jo couldn't stand watching her dad anymore. He was just making her more nervous. She hopped up onto one of the biobeds in the empty room.

Bones came walked over to her. “I can’t. I want to make sure you’re safe before I go.” 

Just as he finished speaking, a security officer walked in. 

“Doctor McCoy? I’m officer Aiden Bales. I will make sure your daughter is safe.” Aiden was a young man in his early twenties with light brown hair. His stocky build showed how much he worked out. Bones thought he seemed nice enough and could handle the job. He didn’t think there would be any problems, but with the way things were going, he didn’t want to take any chances. 

“Thank you for coming. This is my daughter Jo. I just need you to make sure she is safe. We don’t know where that crazy bitch is.” Bones said introducing his daughter. He turned to Jo. “Are you going to be all right here?”

Jo nodded. “Go. Find Uncle Jim. I’ll be fine.” 

Bones nodded and with a grim look on his face, turned toward the door to warn Jim before it was too late. Little did he know, it was already to late. 

 

********

 

He didn’t know why he was awake. One minute he was having an amazing dream about the man in his arms, and the next he was awake. Spock’s steady breathing showed he was still asleep, gentle air caressing Jim’s skin whenever Spock exhaled. His head was tucked under Jim’s chin laying right above his heart. Jim never wanted to move from this spot. He brought his hand up and gently started to glide his fingers through the silken strands of Spock’s hair. 

It was a few minutes before he heard a noise, causing him to freeze. Realizing that was what had woken him up, Jim looked around the room trying to pin point where it had come from. 

What he saw froze the blood in his veins. His gaze had frozen on the figure silhouetted by the window across the room. 

His body had gone tense causing Spock to stir.

“Jim?” Spock’s voice was raspy from sleep, and he slowly raised his head to look at Jim. Seeing Jim stare intently over his shoulder at the window, Spock followed his gaze. Spock tensed up too and moved to sit up pulling the blankets with him.

When Lenore saw that she had both of their attention, she finally spoke. 

“You moved on fast. I’m not really surprised, though. Your reputation precedes you.” She had a knife in her hands twirling it between her fingers. The shadow surrounding her gave her an ominous air. 

Not acknowledging that she spoke, Spock asked a question of his own. 

“How did you get in here?” 

Lenore ignored him and continued to stare at Jim. 

“Answer him.” Jim finally broke the staring contest they had going on. He glanced over at Spock trying to figure out what they should do. 

“That’s no fun. You have to play the game, Jimmy. Besides, that half breed doesn’t get to talk. He murdered my father.” The declaration was met with a pointed glare in Spock’s direction. 

Jim wanted to say something about how that wasn’t what happened, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to antagonized the only person in the room with a weapon. To get her attention off of Spock, he said, “What game?”

“You don’t get answers until you do something for me. I want you to apologize for ruining my plans. You messed them up, and now you need to be punished for that. Do you want to know what your punishment is? I think you are going to enjoy it.” A manic smile spread across her face.

Seeing the smile cross her face made Jim realize just how much shit he was in. She had literally caught him with his pants down. Jim tried to keep her attention on him as Spock slowly inched away from him. Without communicating to each other, Jim knew Spock was going to try to get the knife away from her. 

“What kind of punishment do you think I deserve? Is it the kinky kind ‘cause I have to say, been there, done that. You don’t have anything new to show me.”

Lenore just laughed. She shook her head as if she couldn't believe how stupid Jim was being. Without any warning and the laughter still ringing in their ears, she sheathed the knife and in a smooth motion pulled out the psi-weapon and shot Spock. 

Jim had no time to react. He felt Spock’s body tense and convulse. He tried to reach for Spock, but Lenore spoke up. 

“I wouldn't move if I were you. I’m done playing around. You and your merry band of misfits are over. Once you’re out of the way, Curry and the others can take over. They have high hopes for what Starfleet should be. Normally, I wouldn't be helping them, but, for once, our goals lined up. Step one: get rid of you. What are you doing? I said stop moving. He’s not dead. Well, probably not. It did kill that one guy.”

She was waving the gun around, trying to get Jim to pay attention to her, but it wasn’t working. Time to try a new track. She withdrew the knife and threw it hitting Jim in the left upper thigh. 

Jim jerked back a gasp falling from his lips. That had hurt like a bitch. He pushed the pain out of his mind. He needed to focus on Spock. His breaths were shallow, and the convulsing was starting to slow down. He was still alive, and as long as he was alive Jim could keep going. If Spock died on him, it would break what little of his heart remained. 

“Stop focusing on the freak! He had what was coming to him.” Lenore pulled out the psi weapon again and pointed it at Jim. “Get away from him, or I will shoot you, too. I don’t want to do that. I would rather play with you for a while before I kill you.” 

Jim turned to look at her. “I am sorry for everything that your father did to you, but this isn’t right. You don’t have to do this. Starfleet can help you. There are treatment programs, and you can get all the help you need there.” Jim didn’t know what was coming out of his mouth anymore. He knew she was as crazy as her father was, but if he could just show her any other way maybe it wouldn't have to end like this. He would always wonder, if she had grown up under different circumstances, would she still have turned out like this? Maybe if she had a better childhood, none of this would have happened. What did that say about him though? He’d had just as much of a fucked up childhood as her, but he didn’t turn out to be a killer. Maybe he had T’lana to thank for that. She had showed him what being alive really means. Lenore never had anyone else to turn to. She had been surrounded by crazy all her life, but that didn’t excuse her from what she was doing. If only there was a way to get through to her. 

Lenore laughed. “You’re not listening, Jimmy. Startfleet is already helping me. It has been for years.” She was grinning like she had just won the game, and she had. She knew what she needed to do. 

“You said Curry helped you. Who else? You mentioned others.” Jim slowly tried to move. His leg was killing him, and he didn’t dare take the knife out. He had no desire to bleed to death, but he had to figure a way out of this situation and help Spock. 

“Do you really think I am going to answer that? Part of the fun is to have you guessing.” Without any warning, Lenore took three steps closer before kicking Jim in the head with a loud crunch. The world went dark before Jim hit the floor.

 

*********

Jim woke to searing pain across his skin. It felt like he was being burned alive. When his eyes registered what was going on, he realized it wasn’t far from the truth. Lenore was painting acid on his skin with an actual paintbrush. 

“You fucking, crazy, bitch. Where the hell did you even find a paintbrush?” Jim gasped out. He hissed and jerked back not getting very far as she swirled a design on his lower abs. The chair he was tied to was metal and extremely uncomfortable. He felt totally vulnerable without any clothes on except for the thin pair of regulation briefs he had put on before he and Spock fell asleep. He was damn lucky he had even put them on. 

Lenore’s eyes glittered in the fading sunlight. She didn’t even acknowledge that Jim spoke, and continued painting a swirl just above his briefs. “Should we take these off and paint your dick? I bet you would sing beautifully.” She smiled up at Jim before dipping the paintbrush back into the acid. 

Jim’s skin was blotchy red and swollen. The burn was getting so bad, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to last. “Where is Spock? What did you do to him?” 

Lenore glanced up at Jim’s face before answering. “Don’t worry. Your freak seems to still be breathing. I tied him up behind you.” 

Jim craned his head around trying to see Spock, but he couldn't turn his head enough. If only Jim could see that Spock was okay, he would feel better. “How about you and I go somewhere else? I’m sure we could have fun on our own.”

The sound of wind whistling through the air followed by a sharp crack was heard. Jim’s head jerked back abruptly from the slap across his face. 

“I know what you are trying to do, and it’s not going to work. Haven’t you figured it out Jimmy? I don’t plan on getting out of here alive. There is no point in us leaving and your freak staying here. That’s what you want isn’t it? Your freak to stay here while you and me leave? It’s not happening.” She informed him in a sing song voice. 

The room swam before Jim’s eyes, and it took all his effort not to throw up what little was in his stomach. His head was pounding, and her babbling was not helping in the slightest. “Could you just shut the fuck up? Do you even know how annoying and pathetic you are?” Jim knew those words would hit her hard, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. He would do or say anything that gave him an advantage. 

“You ungrateful, little prick. You don’t know how nice I have been to you. I could easily kill the freak over there, but I haven’t because I was being nice, but with the way you have been treating me, you don’t deserve any kindness. Now I’ll just kill him in front of you and let you watch instead of putting you out of your misery first.” With that statement, she reached over to the knife still sticking out of Jim’s thigh and yanked it out twisting it as she did. 

Jim howled. His leg had been numb in comparison to the burning skin, but now everything hurt. He couldn't see what she was doing behind him, and he could barley hear over the wild beating of his heart. The metallic smell of blood wafted through the air and the blood seeping out of his thigh clung to his skin creating little rivers that flowed down his leg. His breaths were coming in rapid pants that only increased his panic at the situation. Everything was spiraling out of control faster than he could blink. 

A thump was heard from behind Jim, and then the rustling and sliding of something being dragged across the floor. When Spock came into Jim’s line of vision, Jim tried to move towards him, but almost tipped over the chair. 

Lenore dropped his arms that she was using to drag him by. When Spock’s head hit the floor with a ‘thunk,’ Jim flinched. 

Lenore picked up the knife she had dropped in order to drag Spock’s body into Jim’s line of vision. She crouched down by Spock’s head before looking up at Jim with a pleased smile on her face. 

“I hope you learn your lesson. You should have been more grateful.” She turned back to Spock and caressed the blade lovingly across Spock’s cheek before digging it into the flesh. Pearls of olive green blood spilled out of the cut before rolling down the side of Spock’s face. 

Jim moaned. Watching the blood well up, made him nauseous. He didn’t want that bitch anywhere near Spock. Before he could do anything else, like tip the chair he was in over, the door to the apartment burst open. Jim watched with wide eyes as security officers spilled into the room along with a familiar face that Jim was so happy to see. 

Lenore spun around and threw the knife hitting one of the security officers in the eye. Blood rushed down his face as he fell to the ground. A single shot rang out as Bones rushed to the fallen officer. Jim jerked in the chair as Lenore crashed to the floor at his feet where a puddle of blood already lay. The shot had hit her right in the head, and her empty eyes stared unseeing at the ceiling.There was no way she could have survived. 

It felt like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. They were finally all dead. Every person who had haunted his dreams and stalked his shadow since Tarsus was finally gone. He could breathe easier now. With that last thought, Jim passed out from blood loss. 

 

*********

 

“...can’t believe all the trouble you get into… attract disastrous situations… don’t listen… I’m a doctor not your personal savior.” 

The conversation around him was slowly becoming more clear. He could hear Bones grumbling beside him, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to face the wrath of him yet. Unfortunately, that decision was taken out of his hands. 

“I know you’re awake, so you might as well quit pretending.” 

Jim groaned and slowly opened his eyes to see Bones’ glare. Bones was standing beside the bed, arms crossed not looking happy. 

“This wasn’t my fault! I didn’t go looking for trouble.” Bones’ faced softened at Jim’s words. 

“I know you didn’t. How are you feeling?” Bones uncrossed his arms and looked at all the readouts above Jim’s bed. 

“Like I got hit by a flying hover car. Shit! How is Spock? Is he okay? Where is he?” Jim sat up and immediately started trying to get out of the bed. 

Bones not having expected Jim’s sudden outburst jumped at the expletive. He blocked Jim from getting out of the bed and gently pushed on his chest to get him to lay back down. 

“Calm down. He’s fine. Just breathe.” Bones waited until Jim stopped struggling against him and laid back down before he continued with his explanation. “Spock was brought in unconscious, but he is now in his healing trace. He should be fine, but we won’t know for sure until he wakes up, which should be in a few hours. Also, before you ask, there has been no news on Kevin. He’s still in a coma. We have tried everything we can think of, but nothing has seemed to work. The only option is to wait. Only time will tell.” Bones reached out and ruffled Jim’s hair. That was about the only place left that wasn’t hurt on his body. 

Jim heaved out a breath that he had been holding since Bones had started talking. The only good news he could take from that was that neither of them were dead. There was still hope. 

“You need to rest, Jim. You have been through a traumatic experience, not to mention I just regenerated almost seventy percent of your skin because of the extensive burns that bitch put on you. You also lost a lot of blood from the wound on your thigh which I had to repair, and you have a severe concussion. I also had to repair a rib that was broken.” 

“I’m not tired, and I feel good enough to at least do some paper work. I’m sure there are a shit load of procedure forms that I need to fill out because of this mess. I promise to stay right here, and take it easy.” Jim turned his pleading eyes on Bones.

Bones ginned. “I know you will,” and with that pronouncement he jammed a sedative into Jim’s neck. A look of betrayal crossed Jim’s face and within minutes he was asleep on the bed. 

Bones stood over him for a second longer, then shook his head and walked out of the room to check on the other patients. 

 

***********

“Do you realize your testimony is going to be vital to the prosecution of Curry? As of right now, he is in custody, and all of the activities of the McNair program of been suspended indefinitely. We are still trying to sort out all the details. I wish I could tell you more, but we are trying to keep it under wraps. The last thing we need is the press to catch wind and someone responsible for this shit slip through the cracks,” Pike told Jim over the vidscreen. His hair had more streaks of silver running through it since the last time Jim had seen him, and he was running his hands through his hair in a show of frustration and worry. “I know you told me that Lenore indicated another player, and we are still looking into it. I will let you know what we find, but it could take awhile. How are the rest of your crew?”

Jim sighed. “They seem to be fine. Spock is in a healing trance, but we will know more when he wakes up. Kevin is still in the coma. It’s not looking good.”

“Damn. I’m sorry to hear that.” Pike sighed before continuing, “Let me know when you hear anything.”

“I will. Thanks for taking care of this mess.”

Pike acknowledged the thanks with a nod of his head. “Take care.” 

“Kirk out.” 

Jim turned off the vidscreen and slumped back into the pillows on the boibed. He raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. His head was starting to pound, and all this worry wasn’t helping. He closed his eyes breathing deep trying to relax. 

He must have dozed off for half an hour before he was startled awake by Bones bursting into his room. 

“I thought you might want to know that Kevin came out of his coma. Another doctor is with him now, but he’s going to make a full recovery. It will take some time though. No, you can’t see him yet. I will come and get you right away, but for now just wait. I know you are terrible at that, but I need to get back to them. Any questions? Good.” He was out the door just as suddenly as he appeared not even waiting for Jim to reply to his question. Jim thought about going to wait outside Kevin's room, but before he could make a decision the door opened again, and Jo walked in grinning. 

“I’m so happy he is going to be fine. Thought you might want some company while we waited to see him. How are you feeling?” Jo came over and sat on the edge of his bed where they could continue talking to pass the time. Jim made a mental note to himself to call Pike and let him know about Kevin later. He wasn’t sure how this would all play out. Time would tell, but he would stay hopeful. 

 

************

 

Jim stared out the view port window at the blurring light from stars passing by. He knew he made the right decision. They weren’t ready for a relationship. Jim wasn't ready. 

Spock didn’t have any memory of the last few days, and part of Jim was relieved about that. He didn’t want to talk about it with anyone. He didn’t want to explain things or answer questions. All he wanted was to understand. How could people twist and destroy an innocent child’s mind and shape it into a cold, soulless, killing machine? How do people treat others with cruelty? Jim needed time to process what happened. He needed time to grieve and come to terms with the fact that he has just lost two of the most important people in his life. People that had helped make him who he is today. He wasn’t sure where he was going after this, but seeing Bones with his daughter made him realize that there was still hope. He had a family here, and maybe he couldn't tell them everything about his life, and the things he has done, but he could tell them some of it. It would have to be a story for another night though. Bones needed to spend time with Jo. And Jim, well he survived this long on his own, he could survive until Kevin fully recovered. 

Everyone has secrets. Some people keep secrets to protect loved ones. Others keep secrets to protect themselves. Jim just added this secret to his ever growing pile. Maybe someday he would write a story about his life. Heaven knows he’s had enough adventures to fill twenty volumes. 

He didn’t move as he felt Spock come in and walk towards him. He will forever remember the one night they shared, and the saddest part is knowing that Spock never would.

“Captain, Dr. McCoy sent me to return you to sickbay. You left against medical advise.”

“All right, Spock I’m coming. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

Spock just raised his eyebrow and said in a bland tone, “I am not wearing panties, and furthermore, how would they twist?” 

Jim choked. He couldn't believe Spock. He doubled over and started coughing causing him to have difficulty breathing properly. 

Spock grew concerned. “Captain, are you well? Should I comm Dr. McCoy to this location?”

Jim waved him off and caught his breath. He straightened up and leaned against the railing. 

“Captain, you are very pale. Are you well?” He wanted to know if Jim could make it back to sickbay on his own. 

“I’m fine, Spock. I’ll be fine,” He lied. The smile on his face hid the chaos and despair inside.

Everyone has secrets, but how far would he go to keep them?


	16. Epilogue

“Enter.” Pike called out in response to the knock on his door. He was in the middle of never ending paperwork, but he was expecting this interruption. He had hoped to get more done than he had, but, alas, it was not to be. 

The doors opened, and Captain Kirk strode through the doors before stopping in front of the desk and greeting Pike. 

“You may sit,” Pike indicated the chair in front of his desk. Before Jim could even take a seat Pike started speaking again. “In light of recent events, the Admiralty has decided on a new mission for you and your ship. I won’t lie to you. Many of them thought that you would not be ready to captain a ship so soon after everything that has happened, but Admiral Marcus and I managed to convince them otherwise. Your mission is to study the primitive plant Nibiru and obtain data without violating the prime directive. Do you accept this assignment?” 

A smile broke out across Jim’s face and he answered, “Yes. I accept. Thank you. You don’t know how much I’ve been craving the black.” 

Pike smiled and turned his head toward the window to look up at the sky. “Oh, I think I do. It’s like a drug that you can never get enough of.” He turned back to Jim. “There is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. There has been some discussion of a long exploratory mission.” Pike up his hand up to stop Jim from interrupting. “We are just in talks. I wasn’t even going to bring it up, but I know you, and I thought I would mention it. Your mission to Nibiru will determine if you will be considered for the long exploratory one. So do not screw this up. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. This is amazing. Thank you.” The grin slowly slid off of Jim’s face when a thought occurred to him. Pike noticed troubled expression and took a guess at what caused it. 

“If you’re concerned about crew and their families being torn apart, I can assure you that their will be accommodations for immediate family members to come along. There will be some conditions and a whole slew of paperwork that you and the families will have to fill out, but Dr. McCoy’s daughter would be allowed on the ship.”

“Are you serious? How is that even going to work? Where would we put all the extra people?”

“Like I said. It’s still being discussed by the admiralty, and we are trying to work out all the kinks. The mission itself won’t happen for at least two years, but I want you to be thinking about this. I’ll let you know when a decision has been reached.” Pike glanced at his papers and picked up his pen before looking back at Kirk. “Any questions?”

Jim answered in the negative, and Pike spoke again. 

“You leave for Nibiru in two days. I’ll send a full report to your PADD later today. Dismissed, Captain.” 

Jim stood before bounding over to the door. He couldn't wait to tell Bones and Spock. They had a new mission and things were looking up. 

Pike smiled as he watched him walk away. It wasn’t so long ago that he was in Jim’s shoes excited about the future and what adventures lay out in the black. He had a feeling he would be off on his next great adventure soon. 

 

“He’s magic and myth  
As strong as what I believe  
A tragedy with  
More damage than a soul should see”  
-Kelly Clarkson, ‘Beautiful Disaster’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****
> 
> First, a HUGE thank you to everyone that stuck around to the end. This story has been in my head for over five years, and I am so glad that I finished it. This is the longest story I have ever written, and I'm glad I got to share it with all of you. 
> 
> Second, this story was always going to end this way. I never saw Kirk and Spock getting a happily ever after in this story. Kirk had too much shit to deal with (grief mainly), and he couldn't deal with a new, committed relationship on top of everything else. HOWEVER, in my head cannon, Spock gets his memories back when Jim dies during STID. That was why he was so emotional. He remembered everything only to lose Jim to death itself. In my head cannon, they get together after Jim gets out of the hospital in STID. They get their happily ever after and go on a five year exploratory mission with Bones, Jo, Kevin and the rest of the Enterprise. 
> 
> And last, thank you again!!


End file.
